spool

[spool] /spul/
noun
1.
any cylindrical piece or device on which something is wound.
2.
a small cylindrical piece of wood or other material on which yarn is wound in spinning, for use in weaving; a bobbin.
3.
a small cylinder of wood or other material on which thread, wire, or tape is wound, typically expanded or with a rim at each end and having a hole lengthwise through the center.
4.
the material or quantity of material wound on such a device.
5.
Angling. the cylindrical drum in a reel that bears the line.
verb (used with object)
6.
to wind on a spool.
7.
to unwind from a spool (usually followed by off or out).
8.
Computers. to operate (an input/output device) by using buffers in main and secondary storage.
verb (used without object)
9.
to wind.
10.
to unwind.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English spole < Middle Dutch spoele or Middle Low German spōle; cognate with German Spule
Related forms
spooler, noun
spoollike, adjective
unspool, verb (used with object)
Examples from the web for spool
  • Machines cut nails and formed the tip and head in one step from a long spool of steel wire.
  • As it emerges from the back end, the plastic sheet gets stuck and begins to spool back on itself.
  • Demonstrate the idea with a ball of yarn or spool of thread.
  • Its amazing what you can get for the price of a spool of copper.
  • The spool will roll toward you if you keep the twine parallel to the table as you pull.
  • In appearance, a chalk line an spool of string encased in a metal body that has powdered chalk inside.
  • Between the middle and rear funnels, was a spool of brown thread.
  • The use of the lifter allows the spool to be supported at a wide variety of heights during the refill process.
  • Twin-spool jet engine compared with a conventional design.
  • Stick the pin through the piece of cardboard and push the pin through the hole of the spool.
British Dictionary definitions for spool

spool

/spuːl/
noun
1.
a device around which magnetic tape, film, cotton, etc, can be automatically wound, with plates at top and bottom to prevent it from slipping off
2.
anything round which other materials, esp thread, are wound
verb
3.
(sometimes foll by up) to wind or be wound onto a spool or reel
Word Origin
C14: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German spuolo, Middle Dutch spoele
Word Origin and History for spool
n.

early 14c., from Old North French spole, espole "a spool" (13c.), from Middle Dutch spoele "a spool," from Proto-Germanic *spolon (cf. Norwegian and Swedish spole, Old High German spuola, German Spule), from PIE root *spel- "to cleave, split" (see spoil).

v.

c.1600, from spool (n.). Related: Spooled; spooling.

spool in Science
spool
  (spl)   
To store data that is sent to a device, such as a printer, in a buffer that the device reads. This procedure allows the program that sent the data to the device to resume its normal operation without waiting for the device to process the data.
spool in Technology

operating system
Acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line; but see also spool.
[Jargon File]
(1996-05-20)

language
An object-oriented logic programming language.
["An Experience with a Prolog Based Language", K. Fukunaga et al, SIGPLAN Notices 21(11):224-231 (Nov 1986) (OOPSLA '86)].
[Jargon File]
(1995-03-25)

operating system
To send files to some device or program (a "spooler" or demon) that puts them in a queue for later processing of some kind. Without qualification, the spooler is the "print spooler" controlling output of jobs to a printer; but the term has been used in connection with other peripherals (especially plotters and graphics devices) and occasionally even for input devices.
The term "SPOOL" has been attributed to IBM as an acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line but it's widely thought to have been contrived for effect.
[No connection with "spool of magnetic tape"?]
[Jargon File]
(1996-05-20)

Related Abbreviations for spool

spool

simultaneous peripheral operation online