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.
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Spinning, Sports 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.2005 [1868–9], Anthony Briggs, transl., War and Peace, Penguin Classics, translation of Война́ и миръ by Leo Tolstoy, Volume I, Part 1, Chapter 3, page 13:
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A rod which turns, or on which something turns.
the spindle of a vane
; the top one is acted on by the spindle and disc d, moved by the lever e;1847, editorial staff, “Improvement in Water Taps, Cister Valves, &c. ”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 68:
1 more example
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.2012 March 23, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
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A rotary axis of a machine tool or power tool.
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Cycling, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The axle of a bottom bracket.
Check ball bearings for pitting, cracks, disorderly conduct; cups and cones for uneven wear; spindle for straightness.1972, Richard Ballantine, Richard's Bicycle Book, New York: Ballantine Books, page 181:
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Certain of the species of the genus Euonymus, originally used for making the spindles used for spinning wool.
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An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.
check spindle
receipt spindle
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The fusee of a watch.
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Any long and slender stalk resembling a spindle from Euonymus.
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A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.
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Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.
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Any marine univalve shell of the genus Tibia; a spindle stromb.
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Any marine gastropod with a spindle-shaped shell formerly in one of the three invalid genera called Fusus.
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Biology, Natural sciences A cytoskeletal structure formed during mitosis.
14
A dragonfly.
Coastal New Jersey
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences 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.
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A muscle spindle.
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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 […]2010, Human Sleep and Cognition: Basic Research, page 10:
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
To make into a long tapered shape.
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To take on a long tapered shape.
3
To impale on a device for holding paper documents.