spin|dle

spin|dle «SPIHN duhl», noun, adjective, verb, -dled, -dling.

–n.

1. a rod or pin used in spinning to twist, wind, and hold thread. In hand spinning, the spindle is a round, usually wooden rod, tapering toward each end, that revolves and twists into thread the fibers drawn out from the bunch of wool, flax, or other material, on the distaff. In machine spinning, a spindle is one of the many steel rods on which a bobbin is placed to hold the thread as it is spun.

2. a certain quantity or measure of yarn, such as 15,120 yards for cotton and 14,400 yards for linen.

3. any rod or pin that turns around or on which something turns. Axles and shafts are spindles. The two shaftlike parts of a lathe that hold the work are spindles. The small shaft passing through a lock, upon which the knobs or handles are fitted, is also a spindle.

4. something shaped like a spindle.

5. Biology. the group of achromatic fibers along which the chromosomes are arranged during mitosis and meiosis. The spindle joins the two newly formed nuclei and forms a rounded figure which tapers from the middle toward each end.

6. one of the supporting parts of a baluster or stair rail.

7. an iron rod or post fixed to a rock, reef, the like, to warn navigators.

8. = hydrometer. (Cf. ↑hydrometer)

–v.i.

1. to grow long and thin.

2. (of a plant) to grow into a long, slender stalk or stem.

–v.t.

to form into the shape of a spindle.

╂[Middle English spindel, alteration of Old English spinel, related to spinnan to spin]