Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A cylinder of wood, plastic, cardboard, or other material on which wire, thread, or string is wound.
- n. The amount of wire, thread, or string wound on such a cylinder.
- n. Something similar to such a cylinder in shape or function.
- n. A reel for magnetic tape.
- v. To wind or be wound on or off a spool.
- v. To store (data sent to a printer) in a buffer, allowing the program that sent the data to the printer to resume its normal operation.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A small cylinder of wood or other material (with a projecting disk at each end), upon which thread or yarn is wound; a reel.
- n. The revolving metal shaft of an anglers′ reel, upon which the fishing-line is wound. See cut under reel.
- To wind on a spool.
- n. In electricity, the reel or bobbin upon which a resistance coil, magnet coil, or sometimes the field coil of a generator or motor is wound.
Wiktionary
- n. A device around which thread, wire or cable is wound, especially a cylinder or spindle.
- n. computing A temporary storage area for electronic mail, etc.
- v. To wind on a spool or spools.
- v. computing To send files to a device or a program (a spooler or a daemon that puts them in a queue for processing at a later time).
- n. A small swimming pool that can be used also as a spa.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A piece of cane or reed with a knot at each end, or a hollow cylinder of wood with a ridge at each end, used to wind thread or yarn upon.
- v. To wind on a spool or spools.
WordNet 3.0
- v. transfer data intended for a peripheral device (usually a printer) into temporary storage
- v. wind onto a spool or a reel
- n. a winder around which thread or tape or film or other flexible materials can be wound
Etymologies
- From spa and pool (Wiktionary)
- Middle English spole, from Old North French espole and from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German spoele (Old North French, from Middle Dutch).s(imultaneous) p(eripheral) o(perations) o(n) l(ine). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“If you want to add extra distance make sure the spool is completely full of line.”
which gets maximum distance when surf casting with a 12' spinning rod, mono or braided line?
“The spool is oversized and allows for a lot of line but it feels bulky and over sized.”
“The rotating bail cup a short unskirted spool is in, prevents the line from doing this.”
What pond test line do you use for trout? Is it Monofilament, fluorocarbon, or braid?
“I replace light casting lines as soon as I notice any loss of line flexibility (the line starts to retain spool loops rather than straightening out nice and smooth).”
“- Because the spool is shallower (from top to bottom), the main shaft moves up and down less while you're reeling, which allows for a smaller reel body.”
“Change the line whenever you've cut it back to the point where the level on the spool is too low for good casting.”
“And if the line on the spool is last year's, replace it.”
“Magnetic systems work on a principle called Lenz's law, which simply means that the spinning of your aluminum spool is retarded by a magnetic field.”
Avoid Backlash When Using Baitcasting Reels for Freshwater Fishing
“We’ll say it again, the screw to undo the spool is a pain in the butt.”
“AOK is a kind of layered musical piece that starts with the accordion in the center, on a revolving spool, which is me, and then surrounded by eight country fiddlers, and a chorus, and outside the chorus are, I think, four conductors, who help shape the material that goes by.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘spool’.
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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emordnilap
reviled, loot, no, ta, rat, part, pit, stop, spat, ten, mad, mart and 108 more...
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pins and needles
words&expressions linked to cloth and weaving
thread, strand, criss cross, braid, weave, spin, yarn, bobine, spool, lanyard, needle, loom and 6 more...
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Spinning
This list is basically an excuse for me to list the word wool four times in a row.
wool, spin, spinning, cotton, scribble, scribbler, scribbling, spindle whorl, spindlewhorl, card, card-clothing, carding-machine and 68 more...
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Mouthlong
Having the -oo- innit
snood, coof, brood, tool, canoodle, spool, bloom, toom, shroom, hoot, boot, loom and 2 more...
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window dressing
chemise, gossamer, tweed, pleat, fold, cuff, button, shirttails, ascot, cummerbund, velvet, silk and 104 more...
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thing
apron, lard, clove, camphor, alfalfa, amber, caraway, juniper, kohl, lute, shale, glyph and 142 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, S
scrunch, solace, sabotage, saccade, sacerdotal, sacrilegious, sacristy, snappy, skew, steadfast, scowl, scorch and 781 more...
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beatricks's Words
tremendous, naiad, thrush, samsara, thronging, nascent, broom, aristeia, streak, susurrant, reverberate, resistentialism and 352 more...
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theastic's Words
cellar, stalemate, wrought, opal, tyrant, squelch, squab, linen, tartan, paisley, scope, siren and 395 more...
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DYSLEXIC'S DREAD
Words That Make Sense in Reverse Too! Bad news for a dyslexic, 'cause s/he's got no clue if s/he read the word correctly or not, as opposed to a palindrome (i.e., no mistake possible, cf. "Dyslexic...
tool, lever, nap, pool, leer, leek, desserts, strop, doom, ukiah, yaws, ward and 213 more...
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Flanges &c
Amusingly-named mechanical and electrical parts to be found in a particular warehouse in Newfoundland
nut, relief valve, cotter, shaft, bushing (inner bo..., sleeve, bushing (link), thrust washer, slip yoke, bushing (swing post), half pump coupling, main teledyne spool and 344 more...
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ikepela's Words
quixotic, tempestuous, myriad, bubble, chevalier, archaic, soma, springs, strokes, snicker, lunacy, electricityscape and 110 more...
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Ute
Durable items invented by Hom. Sap.
alpenhorn, matchbox, plinth, pillow, cantilever, fulcrum, troika, cloverleaf, nib, wheelbarrow, dictabelt, cockpit and 184 more...
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the worshipful company of haberdashers
NB: this list being not limited to haberdashery in the strictest sense, but also including items of the milliner's trade, the mercer's trade, and the tailor's trade, it is to be noted that I just r...
button, ribbon, damask, silk, satin, wool, gabardine, felt, trilby, haberdashery, velvet, linen and 138 more...
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junk drawer
marble, locket, bolt, nut, washer, copper, slug, plug, fuse, twist, string, cord and 55 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for spool.

johnmperry Simultaneous
Peripheral
Operation
OnLine Sep 8, 2008
yarb Spoooool. Used delightfully by Beckett in "Krapp's Last Tape". Sep 24, 2007
oroboros Loops in reverse. Jul 22, 2007