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DictionaryspindleRotating shaft
noun / verb

spindle

SPIN-duhl/ˈspɪndl/

A slender rod around which material can turn.

The wooden spindle turns as thread winds around its shaft.

A traditional wooden drop spindle with whorl winds thread around its shaft, loose wool beside it.
Etymology
spinOld Englishspin fibers into thread
+dleOld Englishtool or instrument

The pieces name an “instrument for spinning,” originally a small wooden bar used to make thread. That name extended to the pin in a spinning wheel and to axles or similar rotating machine parts.

In context

The Textile Notebook6:10
passes through a tiny metal guide called a traveler. This traveler is spinning rapidly around a circular ring on the spindle
Cotton Fiber and Yarn Quality Testing

More examples

  • The spool turns freely on the spindle.
  • She slides a roll of paper onto the spindle.
  • The machine's spindle holds the cutting tool as it rotates.

Forms

spindle · spindles · spindled · spindling

Similar words

shaft
A shaft typically transmits rotation or power through machinery.
axle
An axle specifically supports a wheel or a rotating assembly.