spindle

/ˈspɪndl/

/ˈspɪndəl/

Other forms: spindles

A spindle is a narrow wooden rod that's used when spinning wool. If your aunt has a spinning wheel for making yarn from the wool of her sheep, it must have a spindle on it for twisting the fibers.

The noun spindle can be used to talk about a number of different forms of wooden rod or dowel, particularly if they turn or spin. A yarn spinner's spindle is one kind — another is a chair leg or a banister rail that was made from being turned on a lathe. In fact, spindle and spin share a common root word, the Old English spinnan, "draw out and twist fibers into a thread."

Definitions of spindle

1. noun

   a stick or pin used to twist the yarn in spinning
   type of:

   stick

   an implement consisting of a length of wood
2. noun

   any of various rotating shafts that serve as axes for larger rotating parts
   synonyms: arbor, mandrel, mandril

   type of:

   rotating shaft, shaft

   a revolving rod that transmits power or motion
3. noun

   any holding device consisting of a rigid, sharp-pointed object
   synonyms: spike

   type of:

   holding device

   a device for holding something
4. noun

   a piece of wood that has been turned on a lathe; used as a baluster, chair leg, etc.
   type of:

   piece

   a separate part of a whole
5. noun

   (biology) tiny fibers that are seen in cell division; the fibers radiate from two poles and meet at the equator in the middle
   “chromosomes are distributed by spindles in mitosis and meiosis”

   type of:

   fiber, fibre

   a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn