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spile

noun, verb — 10 senses

spile

noun

/spaɪl/

Etymology From Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spile (“splinter, peg”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *spīlaz (“splinter, peg”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“prickle, pointed stick”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian spyl, German Speil (“chip, splinter, gore, wedge”), Danish spile, Dutch spijl.

1

Cumbria, Dialectal, Obsolete A splinter.

2

A spigot or plug used to stop the hole in a barrel or cask.

  • So I felt my way down the passage back to the vault, and recked not of the darkness, nor of Blackbeard and his crew, if only I could lay my lips to liquor. Thus I groped about the barrels till near the top of the stack my hand struck on the spile of a keg, and drawing it, I got my mouth to the hold.[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
3

US A spout inserted in a maple (or other tree) to draw off sap.

  • Now, chamfering one end of the elderberry tube slightly to fit, I push it into the hole and wait. After a few seconds sap will begin to drip from the end of the tube, a tangible flow of life and vitality. […] Beneath the tube, properly called a spile, I place my cup to catch the drips.2023, Ray Mears, chapter 2, in British Woodland, Ebury Spotlight, →ISBN:

spile

verb

Etymology From Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spile (“splinter, peg”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *spīlaz (“splinter, peg”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“prickle, pointed stick”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian spyl, German Speil (“chip, splinter, gore, wedge”), Danish spile, Dutch spijl.

1

To plug (a hole) with a spile.

2

To draw off (a liquid) using a spile.

3

To provide (a barrel, tree etc.) with a spile.

spile

noun

Etymology Alteration of pile, after Etymology 1, above.

1

A pile; a post or girder.

  • The bottom of the river is of hard, sparkling white sand, into which spiles are easily driven; and the building and keeping up of such a wharf is a trifling trouble...1873, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Palmetto-Leaves:
  • […]we'd settled that I’d pick up some spiles from Greg Fitch first thing on Monday morning and get something done about that fence.1975, Catherine Aird, Slight Mourning:

spile

verb

Etymology Alteration of pile, after Etymology 1, above.

1

To support by means of spiles.

2

To drive piles into.

spile

verb

Etymology Alteration of spoil.

1

US, Ambitransitive, Dialectal spoil.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.