noun / verb
rowel
ROWW-uhl/ˈraʊəl/
A small spiked wheel on a riding spur, or to prick with it.
The rowel on the rider's spur turns freely when touched.
Etymology
The Old French word meant “small wheel.” In a riding spur, that wheel is the rotating disk whose outward-pointing spikes give the rowel its distinctive form.
More examples
- These old spurs have star-shaped rowels.
- A broken rowel makes the spur unusable.
- He rowels the horse to urge it forward.
Forms
rowel · rowels · roweled · roweling
Similar words
- spur
- Names the whole riding device, not just its spiked wheel.
- prick
- Means to pierce lightly with any sharp point.