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)
British Dictionary definitions for spooler

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 spooler

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.

spooler 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.
spooler in Technology

operating system, tool
Software or hardware to which data is spooled and which processes that data (e.g. prints it) in the background.
(1995-03-25)

Related Abbreviations for spooler

spool

simultaneous peripheral operation online