spindle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈspɪndəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English spindel, an alteration of inherited from Old English spinel,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from the stem of spinnan “to spin” with the instrumental suffix -el,^[3][4][5][6] related to German Spindel.^[3][4][6] The -d- is an intrusive sound, as in sound and thunder,^[3][4] perhaps helped by Middle English windel “reel”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A slender rounded rod, tapering at each end, used in spinning by hand (c. 725).^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The name passed to the pin of a spinning wheel and, in the late 18th century, to the rods of spinning machines (c. 1790).^[7][4] It was used of the axle of any revolving tool from the early 14th century,^[4] and later of many machine parts that revolve or serve as an axis.^[2][5][6] As a type of something slender it dates from the 16th century, especially of legs.^[4][7] The verb meant “to grow into a long slender stalk” (1577),^[7][5] and in the 20th century “to impale on a spike file”, as in the warning do not fold, spindle or mutilate.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 725 – a hand-spinning rod.^[7][3]
• early 14th century – the axle of a revolving tool.^[4]
• 1452 – a measure of yarn.^[7]
• 1577 – verb, to shoot up into a slender stalk.^[7][5]
• 1651 – spindly.^[3]
• c. 1790 – a rod on a spinning frame.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A rod, tapered at the ends, on which fibres are twisted into thread by hand and then wound; also, the similar pin of a spinning wheel or spinning machine.
2. Any of various machine parts that revolve or serve as an axis for a revolving part, as in a lathe or a turntable.
3. An upright spike on which papers are stuck for filing.
4. A slender turned part of a piece of furniture, as in a chair back.

Verb

1. To impale or perforate on a spindle.
2. To grow into a thin, elongated or weak form.

Word family

• spindleshanks
• spindly
• spindle-shanked

Related words

• spin
• distaff
• spinster

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press