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distaff |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.04 sec. |
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distaff: see spinning spinning, the drawing out, twisting, and winding of fibers into a continuous thread or yarn. From antiquity until the Industrial Revolution, spinning was a household industry. ..... Click the link for more information. . distaffDevice used in hand spinning in which individual fibres are drawn out of a mass of prepared fibres held on a stick (the distaff), twisted together to form a continuous strand, and wound on a second stick (the spindle). It is most often used for making linen; wool does not require a distaff (see carding). The first stage in mechanizing spinning was to mount the spindle horizontally in bearings to rotate with a large hand-driven wheel; the distaff, carrying the mass of fibre, was held in the left hand, and the spinning wheel slowly turned with the right. The Saxon, or Saxony, wheel incorporated a bobbin on which the yarn was wound continuously; the distaff holding the raw fibre became a stationary vertical rod, and the wheel was activated by a foot treadle, freeing both the operator's hands. From 17th-century England, the word distaff became a synonym for maternal as most spinning was done by women in their homes. See also domestic system. distaff the rod on which flax is wound preparatory to spinning How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Now, as the girl was sitting at her distaff, weeping bitterly because she could not spin, she heard the sound of hundreds of little feet, and from every hole and corner in the hut mice came pattering along the floor, squeaking and saying: Then what am I making professions for; what am I bragging about; when it is fitter for me to handle the distaff than the sword? I thought of those fine wigs of tow or hemp with which the distaff of [126] our Prudence was always entangled. |
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