spool

[ spool ]
/ spul /

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to wind.
to unwind.

Origin of spool

1275–1325; Middle English spole < Middle Dutch spoele or Middle Low German spōle; cognate with German Spule

OTHER WORDS FROM spool

spool·er, noun spool·like, adjective un·spool, verb (used with object)

Example sentences from the Web for spool

British Dictionary definitions for spool

spool
/ (spuːl) /

noun

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
anything round which other materials, esp thread, are wound

verb

(sometimes foll by up) to wind or be wound onto a spool or reel

Word Origin for spool

C14: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German spuolo, Middle Dutch spoele

Scientific definitions for spool

spool
[ spōōl ]

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.