ratchet (v.) Look up ratchet at Dictionary.com
1852, from ratchet (n.). Transferred sense attested by 1977. Related: Ratcheted; ratcheting.
ratchet (n.) Look up ratchet at Dictionary.com
1650s, from French rochet "bobbin, spindle," from Italian rocchetto "spool, ratchet," diminutive of rocca "distaff," possibly from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German rocko "distaff," Old Norse rokkr), from Proto-Germanic *rukka-, from PIE root *rug- "to spin." Cf. rocket (2). Spelling in English influenced by German Rätsche "ratchet."