Advice on Windlass Needed

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Guy

Those of us who are Mericans are supposed to call them "wildcats" for some reason.

First use I found in written English of "wildcat" for a shaped chain wheel was in 1844. "Wildcat" was common in US English in the 19th century for other uses, including: wild cat oil drilling (wild-catter, wild catting), wild cat banks, wild cat whisky, and wild cats (both people and animals).

But the core is the use of "cat", used since at least 1626 as a qualifier for things and activities associated with an anchor, stowing an anchor, and recovering an anchor, e.g.

cathead, catshead, catshole (1626)

cat and fish (an anchor) (1808)

cat block (1769)