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—spindlelike, adj./spin"dl/, n., adj., v., spindled, spindling.n.1. a rounded rod, usually 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. the rod on a spinning wheel by which the thread is twisted and on which it is wound.3. one of the rods of a spinning machine that bear the bobbins on which the spun thread is wound.4. any rod or pin suggestive of a spindle used in spinning, as one that turns around or on which something turns; an axle, axis, or shaft.5. a vertical shaft that serves to center a phonograph record on a turntable.6. either of two shafts or arbors that support the work on a lathe, one (live spindle) on the headstock, rotating with and imparting motion to the work, the other (dead spindle) on the tailstock, motionless.7. a small axis, arbor, or mandrel.8. an iron rod or the like, usually with a ball or cage at the top, fixed to a rock, sunken reef, etc., to serve as a guide in navigation.9. a measure of yarn, containing, for cotton, 15,120 yards (13,825 m), and for linen, 14,400 yards (13,267 m).10. a hydrometer.11. Cell Biol. 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.12. a short, turned or circular ornament, as in a baluster or stair rail.13. See spindle file.14. Eastern New Eng. a tassel on an ear of corn.15. Chiefly New Jersey and Delaware Valley. dragonfly.adj.16. See spindle side.v.t.17. to give the form of a spindle to.18. to provide or equip with a spindle or spindles.19. to impale (a card or paper) on a spindle, as for sorting purposes.v.i.20. to shoot up, or grow, into a long, slender stalk or stem, as a plant.21. to grow tall and slender, often disproportionately so.Regional Variation. 15. See dragonfly.
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Universalium. 2010.
