Spindle

SPINDLE

-noun

1. a rod or stick that has a notch in the top, used to draw out natural fibres for spinning into thread, and a long narrow body around which the thread is wound when spun

2. one of the thin rods or pins bearing bobbins upon which spun thread is wound in a spinning wheel or machine

3. any of various parts in the form of a rod, especially a rotating rod that acts as an axle, mandrel, or arbour

4. a piece of wood that has been turned, such as a baluster or table leg

5. a small square metal shaft that passes through the lock of a door and to which the door knobs or handles are fixed

6. a measure of length of yarn equal to 18 hanks (15 120 yards) for cotton or 14 400 yards for linen

7. (biology) a spindle-shaped structure formed by microtubules during mitosis or meiosis which draws the duplicated chromosomes apart as the cell divides

8. a less common name for a hydrometer

9. a tall pole with a marker at the top, fixed to an underwater obstruction as an aid to navigation

10. a device consisting of a sharp upright spike on a pedestal on which bills, order forms, etc., are impaled

11. short for spindle tree (any of various shrubs or trees of the genus Euonymus, especially E. europaeus, of Europe and Western Asia, typically having red fruits and yielding a hard wood formerly used in making spindles – family: Celastraceae)

-verb

12. (trans.) to form into a spindle or equip with spindles

13. (intr.) rare (of a plant, stem, shoot, etc.) to grow rapidly and become elongated and thin

You wander about, crushing chestnuts husks underfoot,

Hermaphrodite spindle tangled in your hair

Death promised with every lock laughing in the autumn sun