Forms: α. 4–7 spole, 7 spoole, spowle, 7– spool. β. north. and Sc. 5– spule (6 spwle). γ. 8–9 spole (8 spoal). δ. 6 spoyle, 8–9 dial. spoil. [ad. ONF. espole (13th cent.) or the source of this, MDu. *spole, spoele, spuele (Du. spoel), MLG. and LG. spôle (hence Da. and Sw. spole), OHG. spuola fem. (G. spule) and spuolo, spuol masc. (obs. or dial. G. spul). In Romanic now represented by F. espoule, F. and Sp. espolin, It. spola, spuola.
The appearance of spole beside spool in the 18th cent. seems to indicate a second adoption of the word from some Continental source.]
1. A small cylindrical piece of wood or other material on which thread is wound as it is spun, esp. for use in weaving; a bobbin.
α. c. 1325. Gloss. W. de Bibbesw., in Wright, Voc., 157. Les tremes, the spoles.
14[?]. Lat.-Eng. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 613. Spola, a Quyl, or a Spole.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 470. Spole, or scytyl, webstarys instrument,… spolia, panulea.
1530. Palsgr., 274. Spole, a wevers instrument.
1620. Shelton, Quix., IV. xxix. 228. She is skilful in such Works,… never ceasing to handle small Spindles or Spooles.
1681. O. Heywood, Diaries (1881), II. 173. She … rose up, went to the wheel…, winded half-a-score spooles.
1783. Specif. Oldham & Prestwidge’s Patent, No. 1368, A sliding frame which moves the bobbins … upon the spindles to distribute the yarn equally upon the spools.
1802. Mar. Edgeworth, Dun, Tales 1848, IV. 416. He continued to throw the shuttle, whilst his little boy and his wife by turns wound spools for him.
1842. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7), XXI. 825/1. The yarn destined for the warp is wound off upon little spools of wood called bobbins.
1879. Cassell’s Techn. Educ., IV. 274/2. Here the slivers are run side by side upon a wooden spool or bobbin.
β. 1483. Cath. Angl., 357/1. A Spule, panus.
1509. Burgh Rec. Edin. (1869), I. 122. The armes of the webstaris, viz. thair signe of the spule to be vmaist in ilk baner.
a. 1568. R. Semple, in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club), 356. Weill wrocht in the lwmis with wobster gwmis, Bayth thik and nymmill gais the spwle.
1842. Whistle-binkie, Ser. III. 40. Curlers, gae hame … To your pens, to your spules, or your thummills.
1887. Jamieson’s Sc. Dict., Suppl. 226/2. A spule is a pirn for yarn or a pirn of yarn. Besides, the copes of yarn used in thread-making are called spules.
γ. 1757. Dyer, Fleece, III. 82. Patient art has a spiral engine form’d, Which on an hundred spoles, an hundred threads … twines,… easy-tended work.
1772. in 6th Rep. Dep. Kpr. Pub. Rec., App. II. 161. A Machine … by which a great number of Threads may be spun at one and the same time on a number of Spoals.
1789. E. Darwin, Bot. Gard., II. ii. 103. Then fly the spoles, the rapid axles glow.
1837. Whittock, Bk. Trades (1842), 412. (Spinner), As the threads become twisted by … a tall wheel which carries round the ‘spole.’
1877–. in dial. glossaries (W.Yks., Linc., Leic, etc.).
δ. 1796. W. H. Marshall, Rur. Econ. Yorksh. (ed. 2), II. 346. Spoil, the weaver’s quill.
b. In fig. uses.
1611. J. Davies (Heref.), Wit’s Pilgr., xxvii. The wheeling of the Spheares … Winde vp thy lifes-Threed on the Spowle of yeares.
1821. Clare, Vill. Minstr., I. 170. Short is the thread on life’s spool that is mine.
1866. Geo. Eliot, F. Holt, ii. That’s a spool to wind a speech on. Abuses is the very word.
1896. C. K. Paul, trans. Huysmans’ En Route, v. 65. The first comer who will wind about me his spool of commonplaces.
c. A small shaped cylinder of wood on which sewing-thread is wound; a reel.
1852. Mrs. Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, xx. She tangled, broke, or dirtied her thread, or, with a sly movement, would throw a spool away altogether.
1861. Wynter, Soc. Bees, 260. The needle … carries a continuous thread wound off a reel or spool.
1890. W. J. Gordon, Foundry, 160. The spool … holds 400 yards of good cotton. It is a good article, and people can pay for it.
d. Any cylinder on which cord, wire, tape, etc., is wound for convenience or for a special purpose.
1864. Reader, 5 Oct., 483/2. It also actuates the break-piece,… thereby producing electric induction in the outer coils of the two pairs of spools alternately.
1883. J. A. Henshall, in Century Mag., July, 381/2. Reeling up his line to the snell of the hook, and with his thumb on the spool of the reel, he turned his left side to the riffle below.
1889. Anthony’s Photogr. Bull., II. 76. We want a film thin enough to be used on spools.
2. A mesh-pin used in net-making.
1838. C. Bathurst, Notes on Nets, 17. Large meshes may be made on small spools, by giving the twine two or more turns round them.
1844. H. Stephens, Bk. Farm, II. 72. Spools, being made as broad as the length of the side of the mesh, are of different breadths.
3. attrib., as spool-cotton, -frame, -pin, -stand, -ticket, -wheel; † spool-knave (see quot. 1688); spool-wood, wood for making spools.
1538. Nottingham Rec., III. 200. Unum wollenlome cum ryngrathes, warpbarres et spoyle whele.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. 288/2. There is another sort of Spool Knave made of Wood … in which there is holes made … for two, three, four, or more Spools to be wound off into Clews. Ibid. He beareth Argent, a Spool Knave, with the Spool Pin therein.
1845. Glance Interior China, 81. The spool-frame … is provided with two long posts, each two feet high, on the top of which is a transverse beam.
1851–4. Tomlinson, Cycl. Arts (1867), II. 470/1. As it is usual to form a rope of three strands, three spole-frames are combined together in this laying machine.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, Spool-stand, a rest or support for bobbins.
1862. Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit., II. No. 3677, Spool cotton, enamelled and six-cord. Ibid., No. 5136, Spooltickets.
1895. N. B. Daily Mail, 4 Oct., 5/2. The barque Assyria, laden with spoolwood and deals.
Hence Spoolful. rare.
1611. Cotgr., Fusée, a spoole-full, or spindle-full, of thread, yarne, &c.
1839. Republican Farmer (Wilkes-Barre, PA), 24 July, 3/4. The ladies will not dare to look at them, or be always exchanging ‘kisses’ for skeins or spoolfuls of the precious commodity.
