spindle

spin•dle

[[t]ˈspɪn dl[/t]] n. v. -dled, -dling

1) tex a rounded rod, usu. of wood, tapering toward each end, used in hand-spinning to twist into thread the fibers drawn from the mass on the distaff, and on which the thread is wound as it is spun

2) tex the rod on a spinning wheel by which the thread is twisted and on which it is wound

3) tex one of the rods of a spinning machine that bear the bobbins on which the spun thread is wound

4) any shaft, rod, or pin that turns around or on which something turns, as an axle, arbor, or mandrel

5) hfi a vertical shaft that serves to center a phonograph record on a turntable

6) tex a measure of yarn containing, for cotton, 15,120 yards (13,825 m) and for linen, 14,400 yards (13,267 m)

7) cbl a spindle-shaped structure, composed of microtubules, that forms near the cell nucleus during mitosis or meiosis and, as it divides, draws the chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell

8) a short, turned or circular ornament, as in a baluster or stair rail

9) to give the form of a spindle to

10) to provide or equip with a spindle or spindles

11) to impale (a card or paper) on a spindle, as for sorting purposes

12) bot to shoot up or grow into a long, slender stalk or stem, as a plant

13) bot to grow tall and slender, often disproportionately so

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Etymology: bef. 900; ME spindel (n.), OE spin(e) l, c. OOHGspinnila; see spin, -le spin′dle•like`, adj.