Wynche

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A hand-operated drum with a crank used for hauling or lifting heavy loads by winding rope or cable ; an archaic verb meaning to draw back or flinch from pain or a blow
2. A geared cylinder turned by a handle to raise or pull weights on a rope ; to shrink back in pain or distress, as a flinching animal might
3. A mechanical windlass used to haul heavy items on a line ; an old verb describing a sudden recoil or shrinking away from something painful

Etymology: The noun "winch," a hand-turned drum or windlass for hauling rope or cable, goes back to Old English "wince," meaning a reel or windlass. It is related to Middle Dutch "winde," which carries the same sense, and both come from a Germanic root meaning something that turns or winds. The verb meaning to haul with such a device grew out of the noun, so the verb describes a mechanical action before it describes ordinary strength. Readers who know "wince," meaning to flinch, might assume the two are connected, but they are unrelated. That "wince" comes from Old French "guenchir," meaning to turn aside or shrink back, and it reached English separately. The two words sit side by side in English only by coincidence of spelling.

Synonyms: flinch, wince

Antonyms: endure