spinning wheel

spinning wheel
a device formerly used for spinning wool, flax, etc., into yarn or thread, consisting essentially of a single spindle driven by a large wheel operated by hand or foot.
[1375-1425; late ME]

* * *

Early machine for turning textile fibre into thread or yarn, which was then woven into cloth on a loom.

The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are unclear. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The improvement of the loom in 18th-century England created a yarn shortage and a demand for mechanical spinning. The result was a series of inventions that converted the spinning wheel into a powered, mechanized component of the Industrial Revolution (see drawing frame; spinning jenny; water frame).

* * *

▪ textiles
      early machine for turning fibre into thread or yarn, which was then woven into cloth on a loom. The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are obscure. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the European Middle Ages. It replaced the earlier method of hand spinning, in which the individual fibres were drawn out of a mass of wool held on a stick, or distaff, twisted together to form a continuous strand, and wound on a second stick, or spindle. The first stage in mechanizing the process was to mount the spindle horizontally in bearings so that it could be rotated by a cord encircling a large, hand-driven wheel. The distaff, carrying the mass of fibre, was held in the left hand, and the wheel slowly turned with the right. Holding the fibre at an angle to the spindle produced the necessary twist.

      The Saxon, or Saxony, wheel, introduced in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, incorporated a bobbin on which the yarn was wound continuously; the distaff on which the raw fibre was held became a stationary vertical rod, and the wheel was actuated by a foot treadle, thus freeing both of the operator's hands.

      The improvement of the loom in 18th-century Great Britain created a yarn shortage and a demand for mechanical spinning. The result was a series of inventions that converted the spinning wheel into a powered, mechanized component of the Industrial Revolution.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Spinning Wheel — Single par Blood, Sweat and Tears extrait de l’album Blood, Sweat and Tears (album) Face A More and More Face B Spinning Wheel Sortie Janvier 1969 Enregistrement …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Spinning wheel — Wheel Wheel (hw[=e]l), n. [OE. wheel, hweol, AS. hwe[ o]l, hweogul, hweowol; akin to D. wiel, Icel. hv[=e]l, Gr. ky klos, Skr. cakra; cf. Icel. hj[=o]l, Dan. hiul, Sw. hjul. [root]218. Cf. {Cycle}, {Cyclopedia}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A circular… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spinning wheel — Spinning Spin ning, a. & n. from {Spin}. [1913 Webster] {Spinning gland} (Zo[ o]l.), one of the glands which form the material for spinning the silk of silkworms and other larv[ae]. {Spinning house}, formerly a common name for a house of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spinning wheel — spinning wheels also spinning wheel N COUNT A spinning wheel is a wooden machine that people used in their homes to make thread from wool, in former times …   English dictionary

  • spinning wheel — ► NOUN ▪ an apparatus for spinning yarn or thread with a spindle driven by a wheel attached to a crank or treadle …   English terms dictionary

  • spinning wheel — n. a simple spinning machine fitted with a single spindle driven by the rotation of a large wheel spun by a foot treadle or by hand …   English World dictionary

  • spinning wheel — n a simple machine consisting of a wheel on a frame that people used in their homes in the past for making cotton, wool etc into thread …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Spinning wheel — For the computer animation commonly found on the Internet, see Spinning wheel (animation). For the Blood, Sweat Tears song, see Spinning Wheel (song). Irish spinning wheel around 1900 Library of Congress collection A spinning wheel is a device… …   Wikipedia

  • spinning wheel — noun a small domestic spinning machine with a single spindle that is driven by hand or foot • Hypernyms: ↑spinning machine • Part Meronyms: ↑distaff, ↑leg, ↑spindle * * * noun, pl ⋯ wheels [count] : a machine that was used in the past for making… …   Useful english dictionary

  • spinning wheel — UK [ˈspɪnɪŋ ˌwiːl] / US [ˈspɪnɪŋ ˌwɪl] / US [ˈspɪnɪŋ ˌhwɪl] noun [countable] Word forms spinning wheel : singular spinning wheel plural spinning wheels a piece of equipment used in the past for making thread from wool or cotton. It has a large… …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”