means A winch is a hauling device that winds rope or cable around a drum, usually turned by a crank or motor, to pull or lift heavy loads.

from From Old English 'wince,' meaning a reel, roller, or pulley — itself tied to 'wincian,' to wink or flinch, the root that also gives us 'wink.' The shared idea is a quick bending or turning motion: a winch is something that turns, just as an eye that winks gives a little jerk. So the same ancient sense of a sudden movement coils, fittingly, into a machine built entirely of turning.