·noun A pawl, click, or detent, for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, ·etc.
II. Ratchet ·noun A mechanism composed of a ratchet wheel, or ratch, and pawl. ·see Ratchet wheel, below, and 2d Ratch.
A saw-toothed wheel in machinery, as the winch, windlass, &c., in which the paul catches. ...
The Sailor's Word-Book