ratchet
pronunciation
How to pronounce ratchet in British English:
UK [ˈrætʃɪt]
How to pronounce ratchet in American English:
US [ˈrætʃɪt]
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- Noun:
- mechanical device consisting of a toothed wheel or rack engaged with a pawl that permits it to move in only one direction
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- Verb:
- move by degrees in one direction only
Word Origin
- ratchet
- ratchet: [17] Ratchet was originally acquired, in the form rochet, from French rochet. This was a diminutive form descended ultimately from Frankish *rokko ‘spool’, which is related to English rocket. The notion of having teeth, which is central to the idea of a ratchet, therefore appears to be historically secondary; it presumably arose from the addition of ‘teeth’ to a rotating ‘spool’ or ‘spindle’ in a machine. The change from rochet to ratchet, which began in the 18th century, may have been influenced by German ratsch ‘ratchet’.=> rocket
- ratchet (v.)
- 1852, from ratchet (n.). Transferred sense attested by 1977. Related: Ratcheted; ratcheting.
- ratchet (n.)
- 1650s, rochet, from French rochet "bobbin, spindle," from Italian rocchetto "spool, ratchet," diminutive of rocca "distaff," possibly from a Germanic source (compare Old High German rocko "distaff," Old Norse rokkr), from Proto-Germanic *rukka-, from PIE root *ruk- "fabric, spun yarn." Compare rocket (n.2). Current spelling in English dates from 1721, influenced by synonymous ratch, which perhaps is borrowed from German Rätsche "ratchet."
Example
- 1. They have been driven by a ratchet effect .
- 2. The colonel is caught in a ratchet and it is tightening .
- 3. This creates a ratchet effect .
- 4. Games a and b must be set up to copy a ratchet , which means they must have some direct interaction .
- 5. Dr akeson , meanwhile , created a clever ratchet arrangement by attaching a polymerase enzyme to the ahl protein .