Rachet

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A mechanical device featuring a wheel or bar with angled teeth that allows motion in one direction while preventing it in the opposite ; a tool used for tightening or loosening bolts by incremental turns ; an informal term describing something that is unrefined, low-quality, or loud in behavior or appearance
2. An instrument with a toothed wheel engaging a pawl to permit stepwise movement in only one direction ; a hand tool applied for rotating fasteners with a see-saw action ; slang used to characterize objects or conduct as gaudy, crude, or disorderly
3. A mechanism consisting of a grooved wheel and a catch to enable controlled rotation one way only ; a ratchet wrench employed to apply torque intermittently ; a colloquial expression referring to something considered vulgar, messy, or excessively noisy

Etymology: "Rachet" is an archaic spelling of "ratchet," the toothed mechanism that lets a wheel turn in one direction only. The modern word arrived in English from French "rochet," meaning bobbin, spindle or ratchet, which in turn was borrowed from Italian "rocchetto," meaning spool. The thread running through these senses is a small cylinder that winds something up, and the toothed device took its name from the spool-like part it turned. The spelling "rachet" is a separate matter. Its source offers a possible explanation: a variant pronunciation, perhaps distinctive to Louisiana, that blurred "ratchet" toward the sound of "wretched." The same kind of slurring turns "wrestling" into "rasslin'." This explanation is uncertain, so it should be read as a plausible guess rather than settled fact.