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spindle

noun
/ˈspɪndəl/

Etymology

From Middle English spyndel, spindle, spyndylle, from Old English spindle, spindel, alteration of earlier spinel, spinil, spinl (“spindle”), from Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu (“spindle”), equivalent to spin + -le. Cognate with Scots spindil, spinnell (“spindle”), Dutch spindel ("spindle"; < Middle Dutch spille, spinle), German Spindel (“spindle”), Danish spindel (“spindle”), Swedish spindel (“spindle”). The dragonfly sense (noun sense 14) is a calque of Swedish slända (dragonfly/spindle); this word was introduced by New Sweden settlers.

  1. inherited from *spinnilu✻
  2. inherited from spindle
  3. inherited from spyndel

Definitions

  1. A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of…

    A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of a shaft and a circular whorl positioned at either the upper or lower end of the shaft when suspended vertically from the forming thread.

    • Anna Pavlovna’s soirée was now in full swing. On all sides the spindles were humming away non-stop.

  2. A rod which turns, or on which something turns.

    • the spindle of a vane
    • A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.

  3. A rotary axis of a machine tool or power tool.

  4. ›+ 18 more definitions

    1. The axle of a bottom bracket.

      • Check ball bearings for pitting, cracks, disorderly conduct; cups and cones for uneven wear; spindle for straightness.

    2. Certain of the species of the genus Euonymus, originally used for making the spindles…

      Certain of the species of the genus Euonymus, originally used for making the spindles used for spinning wool.

    3. An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.

      • check spindle
      • receipt spindle

    4. The fusee of a watch.

    5. Any long and slender stalk resembling a spindle from Euonymus.

    6. A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards

      A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.

    7. A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or…

      A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.

    8. Any marine univalve shell of the genus Tibia

      Any marine univalve shell of the genus Tibia; a spindle stromb.

    9. Any marine gastropod with a spindle-shaped shell formerly in one of the three invalid…

      Any marine gastropod with a spindle-shaped shell formerly in one of the three invalid genera called Fusus.

    10. A cytoskeletal structure formed during mitosis.

    11. A dragonfly.

    12. A plastic container for packaging optical discs such as CDs or DVDs, having a central…

      A plastic container for packaging optical discs such as CDs or DVDs, having a central column that passes through the central holes in the discs and keeps them in a stack.

    13. A muscle spindle.

    14. A sleep spindle.

      • One of the fascinating characteristics of sleep spindles is that they are generated by the thalamic reticular nucleus, and do not occur in the presence of NE. In fact, LC neurons fall silent in the second preceding each spindle […]

    15. To make into a long tapered shape.

    16. To take on a long tapered shape.

    17. To impale on a device for holding paper documents.

      • Do not fold, spindle or mutilate this document.

    18. A surname transferred from the nickname.

The neighborhood

Derived

antispindle, central spindle, hemispindle, Japanese spindle, minispindle, mitotic spindle, multispindle, perispindle, sleep spindle, spindle cell, spindle diagram, spindleful, spindlehorn, spindle-legged, spindlelegs, spindlelike, spindlemaker, spindlemaking, spindle neuron, spindle poison, spindle-shanked, spindleshanks, spindle-shaped, spindletail, spindle toxin, spindlewise, spindlework, spindleworm, spindly

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at spindle. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01spindle02axis03arc04continuous05articulated06pivoted07pivot

A definitional loop anchored at spindle. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at spindle

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA