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Spindle
Definitions
- 1 A surname transferred from the nickname.
- 1 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 any holding device consisting of a rigid, sharp-pointed object wordnet
- 3 A rod which turns, or on which something turns.
"the spindle of a vane"
- 4 a stick or pin used to twist the yarn in spinning wordnet
- 5 A rotary axis of a machine tool or power tool.
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- 6 any of various rotating shafts that serve as axes for larger rotating parts wordnet
- 7 Certain of the species of the genus Euonymus, originally used for making the spindles used for spinning wool.
- 8 a piece of wood that has been turned on a lathe; used as a baluster, chair leg, etc. wordnet
- 9 An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.
"check spindle"
- 10 (biology) tiny fibers that are seen in cell division; the fibers radiate from two poles and meet at the equator in the middle wordnet
- 11 The fusee of a watch.
- 12 Any long and slender stalk resembling a spindle from Euonymus.
- 13 A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.
- 14 A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.
- 15 Any marine univalve shell of the genus Tibia; a spindle stromb.
- 16 Any marine gastropod with a spindle-shaped shell formerly in one of the three invalid genera called Fusus.
- 17 A cytoskeletal structure formed during mitosis.
- 18 A dragonfly.
- 19 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.
- 20 A muscle spindle.
- 21 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 […]"
- 1 To make into a long tapered shape. transitive
- 2 To take on a long tapered shape. intransitive
- 3 To impale on a device for holding paper documents. transitive
"Do not fold, spindle or mutilate this document."
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 13) is a calque of Swedish slända (dragonfly/spindle); this word was introduced by New Sweden settlers.
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 13) is a calque of Swedish slända (dragonfly/spindle); this word was introduced by New Sweden settlers.
Originally a nickname for someone who made, sold, or used spindles.
See also for "spindle"
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