Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pawl \Pawl\, v. t.
   To stop with a pawl; to drop the pawls off.

   {To pawl the capstan}. See under {Capstan}.

Pawl \Pawl\, n. [W. pawl a pole, a stake. Cf. {Pole} a stake.]
   (Mach.)
   A pivoted tongue, or sliding bolt, on one part of a machine,
   adapted to fall into notches, or interdental spaces, on
   another part, as a ratchet wheel, in such a manner as to
   permit motion in one direction and prevent it in the reverse,
   as in a windlass; a catch, click, or detent. See Illust. of
   {Ratchet Wheel}. [Written also {paul}, or {pall}.]

   {Pawl bitt} (Naut.), a heavy timber, set abaft the windlass,
      to receive the strain of the pawls.

   {Pawl rim} or {ring} (Naut.), a stationary metallic ring
      surrounding the base of a capstan, having notches for the
      pawls to catch in.

Source : WordNet®

pawl
     n : a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a
         wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward [syn: {detent},
          {click}, {dog}]