reelableadj.
/ˈriːləbl/, U.S. /ˈriləb(ə)l/ That can be reeled, or wound on a reel; spec. (of silk thread) that can be wound directly from the silkworm cocoon without requiring spinning; (of a cocoon) capable of yielding silk in this manner.
ΚΠ
1845 Ohio Cultivator 15 Mar. 44/1 For best reelable pea-nut cocoons, $4 00 per bushel.
1887 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 60/2 The reelable fibre is as a rule thickest..at the middle portion.
1924 Times 24 May 11/7 The cocoons..are not reelable, and can only be used as silk waste in the spun silk industry.
1945 Sci. News Let. 28 July 60/1 When spinning time comes the silkworm, working continuously for three days, produces a cocoon with the reelable thread from 800 to 1200 yards long.
1986 Oil & Gas Jrnl. 12 May 25 For design of a reelable insulated pipeline system, design criteria included external corrosion protection to the steel pipeline.
2005 R. K. Datta & M. Nanavaty Global Silk Industry xi. 346 Pierced cocoons are not reelable and are used in spun silk manufacture.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1845