In plural. Short pieces and knots of wool combed out of a long staple; the refuse of wool or silk, sometimes made into rovings.

In plural. Short pieces and knots of refuse wool produced during the combing process. Cf. noil, n.

refuse of wool or flax, or what is left after dressing it; in the manufacture of flax, ‘properly the tow, that is thrown off by a second hackling’…

Spinning. The fibres plucked from combed wool. Obsolete.