spinn.1
/spɪn/, U.S. /spɪn/ 1.
a. An act or spell of spinning; also technical, capacity for being twisted or spun; the product resulting from spinning.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > silk > [noun] > capacity for being twisted or spun
spin1853
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > spinning > act or spell of
spin1853
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > spun
spun-yarn1376
spinning?c1510
spinstry1611
filament1791
twist1805
spun1869
spin1884
1853 Househ. Words 7 131/1 The apparatus for testing what is termed the ‘spin’ of the silk;—its capability of being twisted round with great velocity without..being damaged.
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning Woollen & Worsted (ed. 2) 62 As it is to be spun into worsted,..the longer the fibres remain the better will be the spin.
b. The product of a machine which rotates and twists toffee.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > toffee
taffy1817
Everton toffee1822
toffeea1825
hardbake1825
stickjaw1827
tom trot1829
tameletjie1838
butterscotch1847
peanut candy1856
caramel1884
treacle toffee1885
Harrogate toffee1890
brittle1892
peanut brittle1892
saltwater taffy1894
brickle1907
spin1913
hokey-pokey1939
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers i. 4 She..went to get Annie a spin of toffee.
2.
a. An act or spell of revolving or whirling round; a circular or rotatory movement; spec. a spell of spin-drying.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > spinning > an act or spell of
spin1841
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > drying clothes by spinning in machine > spell of
spin1966
1841 T. Moore Summer Fête in Poet. Wks. IV. 352 Teetotums we've for patriots got,..A glorious spin, and then— a tumble.
1864 G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) I. 194 The circular motion imparted to the new matter by the original twist or spin which the sun gave to the mass.
1966 D. V. Davis New Domest. Encycl. (ed. 2) iii. 127 Each spin should be restricted to about 15 seconds.
1969 K. J. Mills Washing Wisdom vi. 97 If a spin has been selected, then this will happen for the required time.
b. A head-over-heels movement; a somersault.
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the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > [noun] > somersault
supersault1503
somersault1530
tumbling cast1530
sobersaulta1533
somerset1591
turn-over1660
pitch-pole1842
spin1842
salto mortale1896
flip-flop1902
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy i Surprising was the spin the young equestrians took over the ears of the horse.
c. Cricket. A twisting motion given to the ball when bowled or thrown. Also, the ability to impart such a motion to the ball; spin-bowling.Also in combinations off-spin, over-spin, side-spin, underspin.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > motion of ball > specific
curl1833
screw1840
devil1845
rise1845
work1846
break1851
spin1851
hang1866
bump1867
fire1888
leg-spin1888
air break1900
turn1900
underspin1901
off-spin1904
finger spin1905
swing1906
back-spin1916
outswing1921
inswing1927
away swing1936
wrist-spin1960
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field ix. 174 The more spin you give the ball, the better the delivery; because then the ball will twist, rise quickly, or cut variously, the instant it touches the ground.
1855 F. Lillywhite Guide to Cricketers (ed. 8) 81 A bowler with a great spin.
1861 Bell's Life in London 10 Nov. 6/3 But however good their trundling, pitch or pace, or break or spin, Still the monarch of all bowlers, to my mind was Alfred Mynn.
1862 J. Pycroft Cricket Tutor 34 When there is no spin upon the ball, a batsman will risk a kind of guess-hit.
1884 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Ann. i. iii. 25 Not able to get quite the same amount of spin on the ball.
1951 Sport 27 Apr. 12/1 Wardle's left-arm slows and the rapid advance of Eddie Leadbetter, the 23-year-old leg-break and googly bowler, offer spin enough to check the best opponents.
1955 Times 5 July 4/1 Silk was probably right in thinking that his seamers would get more out of it than his spinners, but what he did not know was that Oxford were likely to lose their composure against spin.
1958 Times 19 July 3/5 Even if we are to be short of spin in Australia our pace attack will be as formidable as it was four years ago.
1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 32/3 It was left to the spin of Holford to separate the dangerous pair.
d. Aeronautics. A steep descent in which an aircraft describes a helix at an angle of attack greater than the stalling angle; flat spin: see s.v. flat adj., adv., and n.3 Compounds 2.
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society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > [noun] > spin
spin1915
spinning1915
tailspin1916
flat spin1917
vrille1918
1915 Aeroplane 10 Nov. 578/2 Several times their aeroplane got into a ‘spin’.
1918 War Birds (1927) 69 I spun down and came out of the spin in the clouds.
1918 War Birds (1927) 87 All in Camels and all doing right hand spins.
1929 F. A. Swoffer Learning to Fly 91 To go into a spin, close the throttle and commence a gliding turn.
1930 Nayler & Ower Aviation To-day 324 To come out of the spin the pilot pushes his stick forward so as to unstall the wings.
1939 Aircraft Engin. XI. 40/3 There are many references to spiral or corkscrew descent in the literature..but this always implies a fully controllable motion at an angle of incidence below the critical angle; very different to the spin proper.
1953 Aeroplane 30 Jan. 140/2 Apart from spins that resulted in fatal accidents, there were also quite a number before 1914 which had less drastic consequences.
1977 New Yorker 27 June 62/1 The Liberator..went into a spin, dived toward the earth.
e. The continued revolving of the clutch of a motor after being disengaged.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > transmission > clutch > slipping or spinning of
slip1902
spinning1913
spin1919
1919 B. H. Davies Motor Driving 129 The disc A is pressed against the disc B, which damps out the ‘spin’.
1948 A. W. Judge Mod. Motor Engineer (ed. 4) II. 305 If the car is fitted with a clutch stop, or brake, this will effectively obviate clutch spin on disengagement.
1977 J. H. Haynes Ford Fiesta Owners Workshop Man. v. 95/2 Clutch spin is a condition that occurs when there is an obstruction in the clutch.
f. colloquial. The act of playing a gramophone record, esp. on the air; a session of playing gramophone records.
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society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > [noun] > playing of records
gramophony1925
play1961
spin1977
1977 Broadcast 28 Nov. 10/1 Records not receiving maxiplay but likely to get at least one daytime spin.
1977 R.A.F. News 11 May 20/6 Disc jockey SAC ‘Duke’ Bedford set off on a record non-stop spin of 72½ hours.
3.
a. The act of causing something to spin.
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the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > spinning > causing
spin1840
1840 Peter Parley's Ann. 85 Peter..changed tops with Thorp; and after having a few spins, ran home.
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports 254/1 It is obvious that for this purpose a long rod is required to command a greater extent of water, and a more numerous series of spins.
b. The act of tossing a coin in the air as a means of deciding something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [noun] > choosing by casting lots > tossing a coin
toss-up1752
toss1798
swindle1868
spin1882
1882 Daily Tel. 27 May The Oxonians being fortunate in the spin of the coin.
4.
a. A spell of continuous movement by way of exercise or pastime; a fairly rapid ride or run of some duration, now frequently in a motor vehicle or aircraft.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > outing or excursion > [noun]
airing1607
tour1656
excursion1699
scheme1758
out1762
visit1800
outing1821
day out1822
day trip1838
spin1856
ta-ta1886
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > a ride in a vehicle > rapid
spin1856
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > going swiftly on foot > [noun] > running > a spell or act of > for exercise
spin1856
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports 336/2 Shorter spins of three-quarters of a mile..will be adopted as often as the trainer sees fit.
1884 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 15 Sept. The bicyclist now..takes long spins from one end of the State to the other.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 319 He..was in much the same bodily..condition as if he had taken a ten-mile spin with a greatcoat on.
1907 G. Meredith Let. 7 Sept. (1970) III. 1606 To vary my growls..I hire a motor and have a spin of 100 miles, a way of ensuring appetite and prolonged sleep.
1942 A. Christie Body in Libr. xi. 102 He took his car and went for a spin down to the front.
1960 M. Spark Ballad of Peckham Rye vii. 164 ‘I called for you last Saturday,’ Mr. Druce said. ‘I thought you would care for a spin.’
1976 Southern Evening Echo (Southampton) 12 Nov. 14/5 A 15-year-old boy..took his father's car, and went in it for a spin around Basingstoke.
1978 G. Vidal Kalki iii. 59 ‘We'll go for a spin,’ said Kalki... First we had to get through to the Katmandu airport. That took an hour... It was five o'clock before we were able to take off.
b. A spell of quick rowing or sailing.
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society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > a voyage > short voyage or trip
trip1691
run1809
flutter1857
spin1875
booze cruise1994
1875 F. I. Scudamore Day Dreams 14 [They] would willingly have hired a boat for the purpose of having a spin with the Frenchmen.
1895 Times (Weekly ed.) 30 Aug. 683/1 The Valkyrie went out for another spin on Wednesday.
c. Australian and New Zealand slang. A (good, bad, etc.) experience or piece of luck.
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the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > fortune or luck > piece or run of luck
luck1530
trot1911
spin1919
1919 in W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 47.
1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo xix. 188 Mollie had had a crook spin when the children were little.
1934 T. Wood Cobbers xi. 134 People generally said they were having a bad spin.
1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams i. xxvi. 132 What a miserable bloody spin he was having.
1960 N. Hilliard Maori Girl iv. iii. 261 Give her a decent spin now and she'll turn out all right.
1964 H. P. Tritton Time means Tucker 113 When I remarked that he'd had a tough spin he grinned, ‘Served me right for being such a blanky fool.’
5. Rapid or lively movement.
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the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun] > swift movement
scud1609
spin1891
1891 G. Meredith One of our Conquerors II. iv. 78 Like the men who escape colds by wrapping in comforters instead of trusting to the spin of the blood.
6. Mathematics. The local rotation of a continuous medium, as expressed by the curl of the local velocity; vorticity.
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the world > relative properties > number > geometry > [noun] > action or process > rotation
rabatment1874
rabatting1874
spin1878
1878 W. K. Clifford Elem. Dynamic I. ii. ii. 123 The velocity-system due to a definite angular velocity about a definite axis is spoken of as the rotation-velocity. To specify it completely we must assign its magnitude and the position of the axis... A rotation-velocity, so denoted, shall be called a spin.
1878 W. K. Clifford Elem. Dynamic 133 Hence every twist may be resolved into two spins, the axis of one of which is any arbitrary straight line.
1937 S. L. Green Hydro- & Aero-dynamics ii. 14 There is an essential difference between motions with and without spin, i.e. between rotational and irrotational motion.
1958 Science 4 Apr. 731/3 The arrow, which points along the axis of spin and has length equal to the angular speed, is the ‘vorticity’... The case of no spin is appropriate to some applications, particularly for waves on water and for aeronautics.
7. Physics. An intrinsic property of certain elementary particles which is a form of angular momentum and is usually pictured as a rotation (it is distinct from angular momentum possessed by virtue of occupation of an orbital); a vector representing this in the case of a particular particle.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun]
spin1926
spin angular momentum1928
1926 Uhlenbeck & Goudsmit in Nature 20 Feb. 264/1 To start with, we shall consider the effect of the spin on the manifold of stationary states which corresponds to motion of an electron round a nucleus.
1938 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) viii. 83 The electrons exhibit a rotation proper to themselves and generally referred to as ‘spin’, and this confers upon them the property of small magnets.
1943 Ann. Reg. 1942 ii. 365 Mesons are of two types—the more usual with the longer life and zero spin and another of shorter life having a spin 1h.
1955 Sci. News Let. 19 Feb. 117/3 They have passed proton beams through two hydrogen filled chambers to get atoms whose spins are all in the same direction.
1966 C. R. Tottle Sci. Engin. Materials i. 13 Beryllium..can have two electrons in the 2s state, since they can have opposite spin.
1974 P. W. Atkins Quanta 223/1 The spin is the intrinsic, characteristic, and irremovable angular momentum of a particle. A convenient fiction is to suppose that the spin is the angular momentum arising from the rotation of a body about its own axis.
8. Australian slang. [Perhaps a different word.] Five pounds in money.
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society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > specific sums of money > five pounds
spin1941
Jack1968
1941 Coast to Coast 225 ‘How'd you go at the two-up?’ I asked. ‘Aw, I got a spin,’ said Tom.
1949 L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 15 ‘Not five bob. A spin,’ said the carpenter, fishing a five pound note out.
1962 S. Gore Down Golden Mile 261 Backed Sweet Friday for a spin... But it never run a drum.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. Physics, consistent with the selection rules describing changes in spin quantum number.
spin angular momentum n. (in sense 7.)
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun]
spin1926
spin angular momentum1928
1928 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 142 610 Goudsmit and Uhleenbeck have introduced the idea of an electron with a spin angular momentum of half a quantum and a magnetic moment of one Bohr magneton.
1977 Dædalus Summer 27 Some quantum numbers, such as electric charge and spin angular momentum, refer to physical, measurable attributes of the particle.
spin axis n.
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the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > axis
spindle?c1343
centre?c1400
ax-tree1430
axe1551
cleat1611
spin axis1922
1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics I. 421/2 A true circular disc, mounted eccentrically on a spin-axis normal to its plane, illustrates the state of bad static balance.
1926 Nature 20 Feb. 264/1 This couple will cause a slow precession of the spin axis.
1977 Dædalus Fall 48 The spin axis of this satellite could be oriented at will by command from the Earth.
spin multiplicity n. [multiplicity n. 5]
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > multiplet > [noun] > number of components in
multiplicity1923
spin multiplicity1956
1956 Nature 18 Feb. 306/1 The ‘electronegativity’ of all the cations is not that of their ground states, for several of them are in states of lower spin-multiplicity.
1977 I. M. Campbell Energy & Atmosphere viii. 219 Radiative transitions between states of the same spin multiplicity are easy in the absence of contravention of other selection rules.
spin quantum number n.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > number representing
spin quantum number1930
1930 L. Pauling & S. Goudsmit Struct. Line Spectra iv. 53 It seems to be sufficient to give all electrons the same rotation, so that they have the angular momentum sh/2π, with s, the spin quantum number, always 1/2.
1964 J. W. Linnett Electronic Struct. Molecules i. 9 Since each spatial orbital is defined by the three quantum numbers n, l and m, this is equivalent to saying that each orbital can accommodate two electrons, and these only if they have different spin quantum numbers.
spin state n.
ΚΠ
1956 Physical Rev. 104 488/1 If the two spin states are equally abundant, this indication implies that the average neutron width is not the same in each state.
C2.
spin-allowed adj.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [adjective] > consistent with selection rules
spin-allowed1972
1972 C. H. DePuy & O. L. Chapman Molecular Reactions & Photochem. iii. 34 Electronic transitions between states of the same multiplicity, i.e., singlet-singlet and triplet-triplet transitions, are spin-allowed.
1973 Sci. Amer. June 51/3 Today the definition is more technical, fluorescence corresponding to ‘spin-allowed’ electric dipole transitions and phosphorescence to ‘spin-disallowed’ transitions.
spin bowler n. Cricket a slow bowler who imparts spin to the ball on delivery.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > bowler > types of bowler
slow bowler1823
fast bowler1828
bias bowler1854
round-arm1858
demon bowler1861
left-hander1864
chucker1882
lobster1889
slow1895
leg-breaker1904
speed merchant1913
leg-spinner1920
spin bowler1920
off-spinner1924
quickie1934
tweaker1935
swerve-bowler1944
pace bowler1947
seam bowler1948
spinner1951
seamer1952
wrist-spinner1957
outswinger1958
swing bowler1958
quick1960
stock bowler1968
paceman1972
leggy1979
1920 D. J. Knight in P. F. Warner Cricket (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) i. 42 Let any player who does not believe in this dictum go and face such spin bowlers as Barnes, Hearne, [etc.]..on a sticky wicket.
1930 Morning Post 16 July 11/5 The attack at the present moment lacks that variety and danger which a couple of spin bowlers would give it.
1955 Times 14 July 3/5 One has doubts as to just how much the spin bowlers approve of these pitches.
1976 E. R. Dexter & C. Makins Testkill 90 A book he was planning on the history of the great spin bowlers.
spin-bowling n.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > manner of bowling > specific
fast bowling1816
lobbing1824
bias bowling1833
windmill1867
fast-medium1890
flick1897
whip1903
swerve-bowling1930
body line1933
tweaking1949
swing bowling1953
spin-bowling1955
seam-bowling1956
pace bowling1958
nip1963
wrist-spinning1963
1955 Times 5 July 4/6 They are clearly a useful team, well equipped with stroke-players but perhaps a little short of spin bowling.
1963 Times 7 June 4/3 Mushtaq Mohammad, Pakistan's Test batsman, amply confirmed his ability against spin bowling.
1975 Cricketer May 20/1 Critics of the English cricket scene often bemoan the lack of spin bowling.
spin-dye v. Textiles (transitive) to dye (textiles) by a process which incorporates the colouring matter before the filament is formed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > dyeing > dye [verb (transitive)] > processes or techniques
to dye in grainc1386
woad1463
madder1464
set1529
to dye in (the) wool, in grain1579
alum1598
rake1778
sumac1792
piece-dye1810
gall1822
dung1824
wince1839
winch1845
overdye1857
top1874
to wet out1882
vat1883
cross-dye1885
paddle1909
premetallize1948
spin-dye1948
1948 Jrnl. Soc. Dyers & Colourists 64 291/2 Dyes suitable for spin~dyeing..are those of nitrodiarylamine, azo, and anthraquinone types.
1961 F. D. Lewis Chem. & Technol. Rayon Manufacture xii. 149 It would not seem possible to spindye thread with a single organic pigment.
spin-dyed adj.
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the world > matter > colour > colouring > dyeing > [adjective] > process or technique
woaded1579
galled1581
overdyeda1616
wool-dyed1832
piece-dyed1841
chromed1876
yarn-dyed1885
yūzen1902
box-coloured1903
tie-dyed1903
after-chrome1904
batik1914
vat-dyed1946
premetallized1949
spun-dyed1955
spin-dyed1963
1963 A. J. Hall Student's Handbk. Textile Sci. iii. 132 Generally, by this use of pigments instead of dyes it is possible to produce coloured fibres and yarns having the maximum fastness properties; they are often designated ‘spin-dyed’ yarns.
spin-dyeing n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > dyeing > [noun] > processes or techniques
masteringa1475
woading1613
aluming1735
saddening1743
bouillon1791
galling1791
dunging1792
piece-dyeing1863
union dyeing1875
batik1880
batiking1880
tie-and-dye1886
cross-dyeing1901
tie-dying1903
vat dyeing1912
tie-dye1926
tied dyeing1928
ikat1931
overdyeing1939
yūzen1958
spin-dyeing1961
1961 F. D. Lewis Chem. & Technol. Rayon Manufacture xii. 148 Lack of space precludes more than a cursory consideration here of the spindyeing of viscose rayon yarns.
spin echo n. Physics a radio-frequency signal induced in a coil surrounding a system of (esp. nuclear) spins in a static magnetic field in the plane of the coil following the application of two radio-frequency pulses to the coil; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > [noun] > field of energy > induced radio signal
spin echo1949
1949 Bull. Amer. Physical Soc. 24 vii. 13/2 Spin Echoes. E. L. Hahn, University of Illinois.
1963 Times 8 May 2/7 (advt.) Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship..for work on relaxation time measurements by spin-echo techniques.
1979 Nature 22 Nov. 367/1 Experiments using the weakly inelastic scattering of neutrons have also become feasible; they give similar information [about the motion of polymer chains in a liquid], but for higher frequencies: from 1011s−1 with ‘back scattering spectrometers’ down to 2 × 108s−1 with the most recent ‘spin echo’ method.
spin flip n. Physics the quantum jump of a particle from one spin state to another.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > jump to another spin state
spin flip1955
1955 Physical Rev. 100 1505/1 The special form of the dispersion relations depends on the high-frequency behavior of the spin-flip amplitude.
1971 New Scientist 1 Apr. 6/2 Light..from a Q-switched carbon-dioxide laser is the ‘pumping’ source for the spin-flip laser.
1975 Sci. Amer. May 89/2 Units of time and distance are specified in terms of the frequency of the hydrogen spin-flip at 1,420 megahertz.
spin glass n. a dilute solid solution of a magnetic substance in a non-magnetic host.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > magnetic devices or materials > [noun] > magnetic solution
spin glass1970
1970 P. W. Anderson in Materials Res. Bull. V. 549 (heading) Localisation theory and the Cu-Mn problem: spin glasses.
1976 New Scientist 2 Dec. 533/1 The essential feature of the spin glass transition is that below some critical temperature, the magnetic atoms are locked or frozen into random orientations (hence the analogy with a glass).
1979 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 247/2 The transition from the paramagnetic to spin glass phase occurs as the material is cooled through a certain temperature point.
spin-label n. a radical or compound used in spin-labelling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > atomic chemistry > [noun] > molecules > study of > substance used in
spin-label1965
1965 T. J. Stone et al. in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 54 1785 Stone..obtained a measure of the rotational mobility of the region of the macromolecule to which the spin labels were bonded.
1974 Nature 12 Apr. (verso rear cover) The most commonly used spin labels are molecules which contain a nitroxide moiety.
spin-label v. (transitive)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > atomic chemistry > [verb (transitive)] > study
spin-label1975
1975 D. H. Burrin in Williams & Wilson Biologist's Guide to Princ. & Techniques Pract. Biochem. v. 161 By spin labelling glycero-phosphatides with a stable nitroxide free radical, the lateral diffusion of the labelled molecules in a membrane..may be studied.
spin-labelled adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > atomic chemistry > [adjective] > relating to molecules > labelled for study
spin-labelled1965
1965 T. J. Stone et al. in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 54 1010 (heading) Spin-labeled biomolecules.
1969 New Scientist 30 Oct. 224/2 The use of spin-labelled substrate analogues shows clearly..the subtle changes in protein conformation that occur during the enzymic process.
spin-labelling n. Chemistry the technique of labelling (label v. 5) with stable paramagnetic radicals which can be studied using electron spin resonance techniques.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > atomic chemistry > [noun] > molecules > study of
spin-labelling1965
1965 T. J. Stone et al. in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 54 1791 It appears likely that the spin-labeling method will be useful in studies of the interaction of haptens, coenzymes, inhibitors, and substrates with proteins and other macromolecules.
1976 Tetrahedron Lett. No. 25. 2180 Spin labelling with carbonyl compounds was carried out for 1–2 days in pH 7·5 aqueous phosphate buffer.
spin-lattice n. Physics used attributively with reference to the interaction between a crystal lattice and a particle possessing spin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > arrangement in crystal > [adjective] > interacting with particle
spin-lattice1938
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [adjective] > interacting with lattice
spin-lattice1938
1938 Physica 5 502 The period of the alternating field must be of the order of magnitude of the relaxation time τ of the spin-lattice equilibrium.
1978 P. W. Atkins Physical Chem. xix. 629 The motion of nuclei can affect the shapes and widths of lines in n.m.r. just as it does in e.s.r., and the spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times can be discussed in precisely the same way.
spin-orbit n. Physics used attributively with reference to the interaction between spin and orbital motion, esp. of an electron in an atom.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [adjective]
spin-orbit1932
spin-spin1934
1932 R. F. Bacher & S. Goudsmit Atomic Energy States 14 The interaction between the two electrons is smaller than the spin-orbit interaction of the 3p electron.
1963 G. Troup Masers & Lasers (ed. 2) 185 Because of spin-orbit coupling..the ‘spin’ S in the Hamiltonian is not necessarily equal to the true spin of the ion, but is rather an ‘effective spin’ related to the multiplicity of levels actually found.
1978 W. J. Kaufmann Explor. Solar Syst. xi. 396 This means that Mercury rotates three times about its axis while circling the sun twice. This phenomenon is known as spin-orbit coupling.
spin polarization n. Physics = polarization n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > spin polarization
polarization1928
spin polarization1966
1966 Proc. Physical Soc. 89 587 The fundamental spin polarization (P) is typically represented by P(x) = P0‸ε cos Qx where Q is the spin-density wave vector and ‸ε is a unit vector along the direction of polarization.
1970 I. E. McCarthy Nuclear Reactions i. i. 7 They [sc. the proton and the neutron] may be identified separately by measuring the spin polarization of the beams.
1977 New Scientist 24 Feb. 455/2 The process is called ‘spin polarisation by optical pumping’.
spin-polarized adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [adjective] > exhibiting alignment of spins
polarized1929
spin-polarized1968
1968 M. S. Livingston Particle Physics vii. 138 If parity is not conserved in other weak interactions, it could lead to an asymmetry in the direction of emission of β rays from spin-polarized radioactive nuclei.
1980 Nature 17 Jan. 248/1 One way of producing spin-polarised electrons is to take a storage ring, fill it with electrons or positrons, and leave for an hour or so.
spin-spin n. Physics used attributively with reference to the interaction between two or more particles possessing spin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [adjective]
spin-orbit1932
spin-spin1934
1934 H. E. White Introd. Atomic Spectra xii. 186 (heading) Spin-spin-, or ss-coupling.
1936 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 155 641 This degeneracy can only be removed by an external magnetic field or by the spin-spin interaction between the ions.
1978Spin-spin [see spin-lattice n.]. spin-stabilization n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [noun] > specific manoeuvres or operations
star tracking1947
rendezvous1951
probing1958
spin-stabilization1961
link-up1965
undocking1966
1961 Planetary & Space Sci. IV. 262/2 Spin stabilization turned out to be one of the more difficult design problems encountered in the program.
1976 M. H. Kaplan Mod. Spacecraft Dynamics & Control iv. 124 The use of spin stabilization in this orbit..was seen as a means of achieving the..mission at an early date.
spin-stabilized adj. Astronomy (of a rocket, spacecraft, etc.) stabilized in a desired orientation by being made to rotate about an axis.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > [adjective] > stabilized in specific way
spin-stabilized1956
1956 Spaceflight 1 19/1 The satellite..was intended to be spin-stabilized so that one hemisphere..always faced the Sun.
1976 M. H. Kaplan Mod. Spacecraft Dynamics & Control iv. 124 The concept of a spin-stabilized, 24-hour satellite was first proposed by the Hughes Aircraft Company in the fall of 1959.
spin-swerve n.
ΚΠ
1927 Observer 24 Apr. 27/3 The true spin-swerve which operates late in flight, and is sometimes even combined with the reverse break, is the most deadly of all balls.
ˈspin tunnel n. Aeronautics = spinning tunnel n. at spinning n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > construction and servicing aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > testing equipment
stabilimeter1907
altitude chamber1918
spin tunnel1947
space chamber1959
1947 A. Pope Wind-tunnel Testing i. 11 The vertical tunnels for testing parachutes differ from the spin tunnels in that they require an even velocity front instead of the dish-shaped front required for the spin tunnel.
1959 F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Dict. 158/1 The air speed in the spin tunnel may be kept equal to the rate of descent of a tested model, causing the model, while spinning, to remain at a given height relative to the observer.
spin vector n. Mathematics and Physics a vector representing rotation; spec. one which by its magnitude and direction represents the intrinsic angular momentum of a particle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > vector
spin vector1882
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > tensor > [noun] > vector > specific type of
R1675
radius vector1740
spin vector1882
axial vector1903
polar vector1903
free vector1904
position vector1906
four-vector1914
pseudovector1922
row vector1928
1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 260 θ is what we have called the expansion, while ω is the spin-vector at P.
1899 C. J. Joly in W. R. Hamilton Elem. Quaternions (ed. 2) I. iii. ii. 492 This vector γ has been called the spin-vector of the function ϕ.
1948 Physical Rev. 73 415/1 The integral Lorentz transformations are represented by exactly those spin transformations which, together with their inverse, map integral spinvectors into integral spinvectors.
1981 Sci. Amer. Apr. 47/3 A particle with one-half quantum of intrinsic spin can have only two possible orientations; in the simplest case, where the particle is in motion, the spin vector can point either in the same direction the particle is moving or in the opposite direction.
spin wave n. Physics a cooperative oscillation in the alignment of electron spins, propagated through a magnetic material in the form of a wave.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > spin polarization > co-operative oscillation in
spin wave1936
1936 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 155 644 For long waves one can carry out the transition to a continuum in the same way as Bloch did in his theory of ‘spin waves’.
1953 Rev. Mod. Physics 25 235/2 The rf magnetic field excites spin waves with wave numbers in the range 1 to 105 cm−1.
1973 Sci. Amer. Jan. 88/3 Waves produced by oscillations of magnetic moment in ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials (spin waves) generate quasiparticles called magnons.
Draft additions 1993
figurative. A bias or slant on information, intended to create a favourable impression when it is presented to the public; an interpretation or viewpoint. Frequently in to put a positive (negative, etc.) spin on. colloquial (chiefly U.S. Politics).
ΚΠ
1977 Washington Post 20 Mar. Pertschuk is accused of..being too ardent a consumer advocate, of ‘lobbying’members of the committee on behalf of things he thinks are good, of putting his own philosophical ‘spin’ on options.
1978 Guardian Weekly 22 Jan. 18/1 The CIA can be an excellent source [of information], though, like every other, its offerings must be weighed for factuality and spin.
1979 Washington Post 15 Mar. a17/2 American spokesman Jody Powell gave a press briefing and put a negative spin on the talks.
1980 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. i. 35/1 President Carter's chief economist..tried to put a positive spin on what has generally been perceived as a dismal economic picture.
1984 USA Today 6 Apr. 3 d/1 New England Monthly is resolutely Yankee in its subject matter, with a spin that suggests it is for and by that generation we've been hearing so much about lately.
1989 Independent 1 June 9 None of the ‘collies’ believes Mr Baker. In the American political vernacular, he is trying to put a ‘spin’ on the Bush triumph.
Draft additions 1993
spin doctor n. Politics colloquial (originally U.S.) a political press agent or publicist employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalists.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > politician > [noun] > publicist
spin doctor1984
spinmeister1986
1984 N.Y. Times 21 Oct. iv. 22/1 They won't be just press agents trying to impart a favorable spin to a routine release. They'll be the Spin Doctors, senior advisers to the candidates.
1988 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 24 Oct. a1/3 Some of the spin doctors (whose nickname is believed to come from baseball, where pitchers put spin on a ball to control its direction) will be using cellular phones to call in policy specialists.
1990 Maclean's 2 Apr. 11/3 We were treated to the insights of Elliott Abrams,..the administration's most versatile spin doctor on Nicaraguan affairs.
Draft additions 1993
spin-doctoring n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] > promoting favourable publicity
spin-doctoring1986
1986 Washington Post 7 Aug. a1/2 Today the competing camps engaged in a game of persuasion and perception: ‘spin doctoring’, as the craft of explaining to reporters what really happened is known in political circles.
1990 Sunday Tel. 17 June 21/8 For the first time in living memory, Tory Central Office handled an election campaign successfully, and it was not all spin-doctoring.
Draft additions December 2003
British Police slang and Prison slang. A search of a person or (esp.) a place for stolen goods, illegal substances, etc. Cf. spin v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > types of search or searching > searching a person or his clothes
frisk1789
frisking1913
pat-down1964
spin1970
1970 T. Clayton Men in Prison Gloss. 251 Spin, search by officers for contraband.
1971 S. Houghton Current Prison Slang (MS notebk.) (O.E.D. Archive) Suppl. 3 Spin,..search of cell or person.
1987 Sunday Tel. 22 Nov. (Colour Suppl.) 28/2 DCI..asks for two spins... Spins? ‘Searching addresses’, he says.
1990 Viz Apr. 15/5 (cartoon) I've gotta leave this place clean as a whistle. The first thing the pigs'll do is give this drum a spin.
1994 N. Parker Parkhurst Tales ix. 100 Once evening association had started at six o'clock, there would be no more spins for the day.
Draft additions April 2010
spin cycle n. a stage in the operation of a washing machine in which laundry is partially spin-dried; cf. rinse cycle n. at rinse n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > rinsing clothes in a machine
spin-rinse1948
spin cycle1949
1949 Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil 3 May 8/2 When the lid over the electric switches is raised, all action of the washer is halted, even during the spin cycle.
2007 C. Goodall How to live Low-carbon Life ix. 141 How much will a good spin cycle in the washing machine reduce the energy needed to run the tumble dryer?
Draft additions March 2003
spinmeister n. Politics colloquial a spin doctor, esp. an accomplished or politically powerful one; an expert at presenting information or events to the media in a favourable light; cf. spin doctor n. at Additions.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > politician > [noun] > publicist
spin doctor1984
spinmeister1986
1986 Newsweek 27 Oct. 23/2 The spinmeisters can't take all the credit for the burst of patriotic solidarity.
1999 Newsday 7 Mar. b8/2 Meanwhile, mainstream reporters continued to report the political spinmeisters' mantra that the American people want this matter behind us, offering their ubiquitous opinion polls in lieu of intellectual analysis.
Draft additions June 2015
spin room n. Politics colloquial (originally U.S.) a designated area where journalists conduct interviews with politicians or their representatives after a debate or other political event.
ΚΠ
1988 Washington Post 26 Sept. c8/1 Reporters..were startled when a woman with the group screamed at the journalists, ‘Go down to the spin room!’
2000 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Journal 10 Oct. a9/3 In the spin room afterward, Gore's campaign chairman..said, ‘It shows they're a team.’
2010 Daily Tel. 12 Apr. 1/3 The Business Secretary will run Labour's ‘spin room’ operation following Thursday's opening debate in Manchester.
2013 M. Leibovich This Town xi. 267 The North Charleston spin room was located just off the media ‘filing center’, where a few hundred journalists had just finished watching a beaut of a debate on cinema-size screens.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
spinn.2
/spɪn/, U.S. /spɪn/ Anglo-Indian.
An unmarried lady.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > unmarried person(s) > unmarried woman > [noun]
maid1603
maiden lady1628
bachelora1637
feme sole1714
spinstress1716
maidena1802
spin1842
sworn virgin1910
1842 C. Ridley Let. Mar. in U. Ridley Cecilia (1958) vii. 90 Mrs. Dixon, a good lady..who was sitting in a very tidy, very hot room with two old spins as companions.
1872 ‘Aliph Cheem’ Lays of Ind (1876) 193 I'm going to rhyme about A most unhappy spin.
1872 ‘Aliph Cheem’ Lays of Ind (1876) 200 O spins. ! be warned ere yet too late.
1888 B. M. Croker Diana Barrington xxiii There were all the Gurrumpore spins in their beautiful new frocks!
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† spinn.3
Obsolete. rare.
A teat.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > breast or breasts (of woman) > [noun] > nipple
papc1175
teat?a1200
pap-head?a1425
big?a1439
wartc1440
teat headc1500
nipplec1510
spin1525
dug1530
spean1573
bud1593
milk papa1616
niplet1648
dud1679
mamilla1684
duddlea1708
diddy1788
tittya1825
knob1941
nip1970
1525 Anothomia in tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Handy Warke Surg. iii. sig. Bij/2 Vuula, ye whiche is a lytell deme hangynge in ye throte lyke the spynne.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
spinv.
/spɪn/, U.S. /spɪn/ I. Senses relating to thread.
1. Phr.1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 342v We saye in Englyshe to teache our dame to spynne.figurative.1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. i. 56 If you go to spin finer than they have been accustomed to, [they] cry out against it as an inconceivable absurdity.1857 R. W. Emerson Poems 171 The storm-wind wove, the torrent span, Where they were bid the rivers ran.1876 C. H. Spurgeon Commenting 122 This author..is good but verbose. Some authors toil not, but they spin; Macculloch both toils and spins.
a. intransitive. To draw out and twist the fibres of some suitable material, such as wool or flax, so as to form a continuous thread; to be engaged in or to follow this occupation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (intransitive)] > spin
spinc725
twisterc1605
thripa1652
c725 Corpus Gloss. R 148 Reuerant [read neuerant], spunnun.
c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. vi. 28 Sceawigaþ lilia londes hu hie waexaþ, ne winnaþ, ne spinnaþ.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 310 Nim þone hweorfan þe wif mid spinnað.
c1290 St. Clement 156 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 327 Nouþe mine hondene me beoth bi-nome, þat Ine may sevwy ne spinne.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 170 Hire moder..Bad that sche scholde..lerne forto weve and spinne, And duelle at hom and kepe hire inne.
a1400 Minor Poems from Vernon MS 707/99 I wolde wite, whon þat Eue gon spinne, Bi whom þat ȝoure gentrie stod?
1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 383 To dye, carde, or spynne, weve, or cloth-walke.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 728 And you wyll speake with my mother she spynneth nowe at home.
1560 Bp. J. Pilkington Aggeus the Prophete (1562) 217 When Adam dalve, and Eve span, Who was than a gentle~man?
1673 J. Milton Sonnets xvii, in Poems (new ed.) 60 The Lillie and Rose, that neither sow'd nor spun.
1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 317 The entrances are crouded with old women spinning.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 422 The short interval when splicing the yarn, and preparing to set on to spin.
1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 37 In bad weather she sat at home and span.
b. Of insects: to produce glutinous threads from the body by means of special organs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > [verb (intransitive)] > spin
weavec1220
spin1728
?c1510 [see sense 3d].
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Silk Before they begin to Spin, they always apply more or fewer of these six Nipples, against the Body whence the Web is begun.
1815 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) I. 408 You will find that precisely the same takes place in the minutest species that spins.
1841 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom xv. 297 When about to spin, the larva..allows a minute drop of the glutinous secretion to exude.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Two Voices in Poems (new ed.) II. 128 For every worm..Draws different threads, and..Spins, toiling out his own cocoon.
c. To make a noise like that of spinning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > continuous or protracted sound > [verb (intransitive)] > monotonous sound > hum
humc1420
boomc1440
sum?1440
bum1499
humble1617
spin1851
zoon1880
reel1899
1851 G. Meredith Love in Valley v Lone on the fir~branch, his rattle-note unvaried,..spins the brown eve-jar.
2. figurative.c1315 Shoreham iii. 150 For wel to conne, and nauȝt to don, Nys naþer rawe ne y-sponne.a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 1226 Towe on my dystaf have I for to spynne More..than ye wote of yit.c1440 Cast. Persev. 2618 in Macro Plays For no man can be war be oþer tyl he hathe al ful spunne.1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. clxxiv. [clxx.] 520 In shorte space he shall haue more flax to his dystaffe than he can well spynne.1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hivv If they fyre me, some of them shall wyn More tow on their distaues, then they can well spyn.1633 G. Herbert Glimpse in Temple vi If I have more to spinne, The wheel shall go, so that thy stay be short.reflexive.1869 A. J. Evans Vashti xvii. 220 Your mind..exhausts and consumes itself, like fabled Arachne, spinning itself into filmy nothings.
a. transitive. To draw out (wool, flax, man-made fibre, or other material) and convert into threads either by the hand or by machinery.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (transitive)] > spin
spinc1000
c1000 Ælfric Gram. xv. 97 Hig spinnað wulle.
1399 J. Gower In Praise of Peace 299 Men sein the wolle, whanne it is wel sponne, Doth that the cloth is strong and profitable.
a1400 K. Alis. (W.) 6806 They haveth no wolle to spynne.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 79 She..came afore hym with a rocke under a gerdelle spynning black wolle.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlixv Flaxe..tawed, hecheled, sponne.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 39 The Towe is seuered from the Flaxe, and appoynted for his vse, so are they seuerally spon vpon the Distaffe.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 286/2 Woll is principally, nay only spun at it, and at none of the other sorts of Wheels.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 78 As for the two friends, they spun cotton from morning till night.
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 222 The flax formerly spun to twelve pounds a bundle, is with hot water spun to six.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vii. §5. 386 The farmers' wives began everywhere to spin their wool from their own sheeps' backs.
1899 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 8 Dec. 62/2 The solution of gelatine must be coloured to the required shade before being spun.
1921 T. Woodhouse tr. J. Foltzer Artificial Silk 23 This solution..is conducted or spun through special capillary tubes.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia VII. 258/2 Acetate is dry spun by extruding acetone solutions of cellulose acetate into hot air.
b. = to spin off (see to spin off 1 at Phrasal verbs 1). Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (transitive)] > spin > finish or clear off by spinning
spina1556
to spin off1601
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. iii. sig. B.ij If thys distaffe were spoonne Margerie Mumblecrust. Tib Talk... will drinke no water.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 162 I must spin-vp my taske.
c. To convert (or intransitive, to admit of being converted) into thread, etc., by spinning. Also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (intransitive)] > spin > admit of being converted into thread
spin1669
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (transitive)] > spin > admit of being converted into thread
spin1669
1669 E. Stillingfleet Serm. iv. 151 For plain truths lose much..and their strength is impaired when they are spun into too fine a thread.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) 306 To spin some prepared Matter into vital and sentient Semina for those insect Animals.
1780 A. Young Tour Ireland (Dublin ed.) I. 166 The 8 lb. [of flax] will spin into..20 hanks or 5 spangles fit for a ten hundred cloth.
1842 R. Oastler Fleet Papers II. 26 It will not spin into good yarn, nor weave into wearable cloths.
1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 320 The number of strands of gut spun into a cord varies with the thickness of catgut required.
1899 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 8 Dec. 63/2 If too much water is present the collodion will not be tenacious and therefore will not spin.
1963 A. J. Hall Student's Handbk. Textile Sci. ii. 50 If a suitable proportion of opaque white titanium dioxide pigment is added to the viscose solution just before it is spun into filaments, these can be produced with a lower lustre or even be matt.
d. (See quot. 1802.)
ΚΠ
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) To spin hay, is to twist it up in ropes, very hard, for an expedition... An expert horse~man can spin five days forage into a very narrow compass.
e. To deposit (liquid sugar) on cakes, etc., in a thread-like form.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > garnishing > garnish [verb (transitive)] > ice or coat with sugar
ice?1600
frost1827
sugar-coat1870
spin1883
pipe1894
candy-coat1930
1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 166 Sugar may be spun over the inside of the basket.
f. To convert (a viscous solution or pulp) into artificial silk; to form (artificial silk filaments). Also intransitive, to admit of being thus converted.
ΚΠ
1894 Work 7 July 391/3 Dr. Lehner's new process for the production of artificial silk... The machinery employed to spin the stuff is much like an ordinary spinning frame.
1921 T. Woodhouse tr. J. Foltzer Artif. Silk 21 From this pulp the silk is afterwards spun.
1921 T. Woodhouse tr. J. Foltzer Artif. Silk 28 The collodion..does not spin so well as if the treatment with chlorine had been omitted.
1927 M. H. Avram Rayon Industry 185 The filament is not spun as is the case with spun silk or cotton. It is ejected.
3. in extended use.1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper vii. 162 When you spin a Silver Web, or a Desert, always take particular Care your Fire is clear.1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper vii. 162 You must not spin it before a Kitchen Fire.† c. In the ironical phrase to spin a fair thread.figurative.1841 T. De Quincey Style: No. IV in Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 215/2 Those accidents of time and place which obliged Greece to spin most of her speculations, like a spider, out of her own bowels.1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxxii. 191 I found Him not..thro' the questions men may try, The petty cobwebs we have spun . View more context for this quotation
a. To form or fabricate (a thread, etc.) by the process of drawing out (and twisting) some suitable material; to prepare the material for (a fabric or garment) by this process.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (transitive)] > spin > spin thread
spinc1290
twist1471
pirl1523
twisterc1605
upspin1925
c1290 St. Edmund 167 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 436 Heo [sc. a hair-coat] nas i-sponne ne i-weoue, ake i-broide [of] strengus longue.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 130 My wyf..þat wollene cloþ made, Spak to þe spinsters for to spinne hit softe.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Judges xvi. 9 The threed of a top of flexe, that is sponnen with spotel.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid x. xiii. 141 His coyte of goldin thredis brycht Quhilk his moder hym span.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. iii. 85 All the yearne she spun in Vlisses absence. View more context for this quotation
1637 J. Milton Comus 4 First I must put off These my skie robes spun out of Iris wooffe.
1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 25 They..Sew them together with Thread which they spin out of the Bark.
1805 Act 45 Geo. III c. 30 Sched. Every pound..of gold thread, gold lace, or gold fringe, made of plate wire spun upon silk.
1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds iv. 51 The lace-makers and jewellers and glass-cutters, and even those who spin glass for the amusement of the wealthy.
1874 H. H. Cole Catal. Objects Indian Art S. Kensington Mus. 137 The filigree..is like a fine web spun over the surface of the bottle.
1891 Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry 30 Apr. 359/1 This invention relates to the process and apparatus for spinning artificial silk from nitro-cellulose.
1973 Materials & Technol. VI. iv. 292 Dry spinning. This method is used to spin filaments from syrups which can be prepared by dissolving the fibre-forming materials in a suitable solvent.
b. In figurative contexts. to spin street-thread, etc.: see street n. and adj. to spin a yarn (to tell a story): see yarn n.
ΚΠ
a1400 K. Alis. (W.) 7251 He hath y-sponne a threde, That is y-come of eovel rede.
c1450 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 231 Let theym [wear] suche clothis as they spane.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xxx. 7 Than is his weid of vertew spune.
1586 Tychbornes Elegie in Verses Prayse & Ioy sig. Aiiv My thred is cut, and yet it is not spunne, And now I liue, and now my life is done.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 19 The Fates, when they this happy Web have spun.
1757 T. Gray Ode II iii. i, in Odes 18 Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Let. to — in Posthumous Poems (1824) 64 How we spun A shroud of talk to hide us from the sun Of this familiar life.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. xiii. 246 [A grave] so fresh made, that the spring had scarce had time to spin a coverlid for it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > do something unskilfully [verb (intransitive)]
to spin a fair thread1546
tinker1655
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hii In beyng your owne foe, you spyn a fayre threede.
1554 H. Latimer in J. Strype Mem. (1721) III. 93 If you tarry with them, you have sponne a fayre Threde.
1656 T. Hobbes Questions Liberty, Necessity & Chance 23 If it be so, he hath spun a fair thred, to make all this stir.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. x. 210 Spinners!—ye'll spin and wind yoursell a bonnie pirn.]
d. transferred. Of insects. (Cf. 1b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > [verb (transitive)] > spin (thread)
spin1660
?c1510 tr. Newe Landes & People founde by Kynge of Portyngale sig. E This wormes..goo in too that fyre. and there they spynne lyke the wormes yt the sylke spynneth.
1660 tr. M. Amyraut Treat. conc. Relig. ii. vi. 234 Insects spin silk for his service.
1700 C. Nesse Antidote against Arminianism 108 If Man (like the Spider) could spin a Thread out of his own Bowels.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Silk The Silk-Spider makes a Silk, every whit as beau[t]iful, strong and shining, as the Silk-worm: It spins it out of the Anus.
1815 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) I. 406 All spiders do not spin webs.
1815 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) I. 406 The thread spun by spiders.
1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1860 265 The animal [Crenella] spins for itself a silky nest.
4. figurative.
a. Of the Fates or other powers: To devise or appoint (one's destiny or fortune).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [verb (transitive)] > decree, appoint, allot, or assign
setc1000
spinc1374
weirdc1550
forlot1566
oss1600
foredoom1608
condemn1653
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 734 O fatal sustren, which, er any clooth Me shapen was, my destene me sponne.
1430–40 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes viii. xxv The parchas susterne spon so hys fate.
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 27 On Dauids head, God doth not spin good-hap.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V ccxxiii, in Poems (1878) IV. 156 To Spin his Fate To an ignobler End, then one soe Bold Had merited.
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey V. xx. 250 May fate..spin thy future with a whiter clue!
1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 242/2 The Fates are usually spoken of by the Greek and Roman poets as spinning the destinies of men.
b. To evolve, produce, contrive, or devise, in a manner suggestive of spinning.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > invention, devising > invent, devise [verb (transitive)]
findeOE
understand1297
devisea1300
shapec1381
warpa1387
enginec1400
weavec1420
reparel1434
studyc1530
conjecture1551
spina1575
ingeniate1592
think1599
to pattern out1601
decoct1602
smooth1603
to fetch about1611
fancy1635
plait1642
erect1646
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > inventive or creative faculty > contrive, devise, or invent [verb (transitive)]
findeOE
conceive1340
seek1340
brewc1386
divine1393
to find outc1405
to search outc1425
to find up?c1430
forgec1430
upfindc1440
commentc1450
to dream out1533
inventa1538
father1548
spina1575
coin1580
conceit1591
mint1593
spawn1594
cook1599
infantize1619
fabulize1633
notionate1645
to make upc1650
to spin outa1651
to cook up1655
to strike out1735
mother1788
to think up1855
to noodle out1950
gin1980
a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 227 This interpretation is finely spinned..out of the lawyer's fantastical head.
1633 G. Herbert Praise in Temple i Lord, I will..speak thy praise... My busie heart shall spin it all my dayes.
1664 C. Cotton Scarronides 56 Should I begin my story spinning, From the first end, to'th last Beginning.
1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires ii. i. 4 My Lines are weak, unsinew'd, others say—A Man might spin a thousand such a Day.
1823 I. D'Israeli Curiosities of Lit. 2nd Ser. III. 169 Many secret agents..were spinning their dark intrigues.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1855) 2nd Ser. viii. 106 A system of wild fancies spun out of the brain.
1870 F. M. Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 60 I cannot help suspecting that language has been at work spinning mythology.
c. To draw out, prolong. (Cf. to spin out at Phrasal verbs 1.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (transitive)] > cause to endure, sustain, or prolong
lengOE
drawOE
teec1200
forlengtha1300
lengtha1300
drivec1300
tarryc1320
proloynec1350
continuec1380
to draw alonga1382
longa1382
dretch1393
conservea1398
to draw (out) in, into, at, or on lengtha1400
prorogue1419
prolongc1425
aroomc1440
prorogate?a1475
protend?a1475
dilate1489
forlong1496
relong1523
to draw out1542
sustentate1542
linger1543
defer1546
pertract1548
propagate1548
protract1548
linger1550
lengthen1555
train1556
detract?a1562
to make forth (long, longer)1565
stretch1568
extend1574
extenuate1583
dree1584
wire-draw1598
to spin out1603
trail1604
disabridge1605
produce1605
continuate1611
out-length1617
spin1629
to eke out1641
producta1670
prolongate1671
drawl1694
drag1697
perennate1698
string1867
perennialize1898
1629 tr. Herodian Hist. (1635) 214 Which being no small detriment to the Romans, did spinne the Warre to a great length.
1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 9 For Sixteen Years the Cause was spun, And then stood where it first begun.
1789 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) III. 58 If the fear of the former alternative prevails they will spin the matter into negotiation.
1792 F. Burney Let. 22 June in Jrnls. & Lett. (1972) I. 205 The little Novel..would not have gone on improving, as the latter of what is left begins already to seem spun.
II. Senses relating to rapid, especially rotatory, movement.
5. intransitive. To shoot or spring up; to grow or rise rapidly. rare.
ΚΠ
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 35 So semly a sede moȝt fayly not, Þat spryngande spycez vp ne sponne.
1641 J. Milton Animadversions 50 Their unquenchable charity, which..like a working flame, had spun up to such a height of pure desire.
6.
a. Of blood, etc.: to issue in a rapid stream; to gush or spurt. Frequently with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > action or process of emitting copiously > be emitted [verb (intransitive)] > suddenly or forcibly
outspinc1330
gush?a1400
spinc1400
shoot1488
spurge1488
outgush1558
belch1581
sprouta1595
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)] > violently > in a jet
outspinc1330
spinc1400
spout?a1513
spout1561
spurt1570
spirt1582
sprouta1595
jet1692
splirt1791
squizzle1856
squirt1858
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8942 Depe in-to his fflesch it ran, That the blod fast out span.
c1560 T. Ingelend Disobedient Child A iv Shoulde I be content then thyther to runne, Where the bloude from my breeche thus shoulde spunne.
1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 131 The blood out of their Helmets span.
1653 R. Codrington Lloyd's Marrow of Hist. (new ed.) xliii. 289 Alexander the great being wounded, and his bloud spinning out.
1684 R. Waller tr. Ess. Nat. Exper. Acad. del Cimento 155 That thin Spirit..which in a small Thread spins out of the same Peel when it is squeezed.
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xxi. 184 One raz'd Achilles Hand; the spouting Blood Spun forth.
1881 R. T. Cooke Somebody's Neighbors 84 The sharp streams of milk spun and foamed into the pail below.
b. transitive. To send forth in a stream. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > emit [verb (transitive)] > in (a) stream(s)
spin1610
guttera1618
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > emit > copiously > in or as in a stream
runeOE
ayetOE
yetOE
hieldc1200
pourc1330
bleed1377
spouta1398
wella1398
outyeta1400
wellc1400
effundc1420
streama1425
shed1430
diffude?a1475
skail1513
peera1522
effuse1526
diffuse1541
flow1550
gusha1555
outpoura1560
brew1581
outwell1590
spend1602
spin1610
exfuse1612
guttera1618
effude1634
disembogue1641
profund1657
efflux1669
decant1742
profuse1771
sluice1859
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 279 Spatious pastures, and flockes of cattell spinning forth milke abundantly.
7. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Galahad v, in Poems (new ed.) II. 177 The tempest crackles on the leads, And, ringing, spins from brand and mail.1850 H. T. Cheever Whale & his Captors iii. 53 The boat spun after him with almost the swiftness of a top.1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius 200 There was a cab at the door,..and in a minute more he was spinning along Fifth Avenue.
a. To move rapidly; to run quickly; now esp. to ride or drive at a rapid and even rate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > move swiftly [verb (intransitive)]
lakeOE
flyOE
runOE
scour13..
jace1393
hie1398
spina1400
fleetc1400
glentc1400
stripc1400
suea1450
carryc1450
speed1488
scud1532
streek1598
winga1616
to clip it1616
hackney1617
swifta1618
whirryc1630
dust1673
whew1684
race1702
stroke1735
cut1797
spank1807
skid1815
speela1818
crack1824
skimmer1824
slap1827
clip1832
skeet1838
marvel1841
lick1850
travel1850
rush1852
zip1852
sail1876
rabbit1887
move1906
high-tail1908
to ball the jack1914
buzz1914
shift1922
giddap1938
burn1942
hoosh1943
bomb1966
shred1977
a1400–50 Alexander 3033 He spynnes [v.r. spedes] him out a grete space fra hes peris all.
c1430 Chev. Assigne 331 An edder spronge out of his shelde & in his body spynethe.
c1450 Cast. Persev. 1400 With spete of spere to þee I spynne.
1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie lxiii. 45 Streight from that place they are speedilie spinning, To an other host.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades v. 79 The which the heardman when he sees, for feare begins to spin.
b. To pass or be spent quickly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > be transitory, fly past [verb (intransitive)]
speeda1400
unlasta1400
fleeta1542
flit1574
fly1609
spin1849
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. x. 93 The young one is making the money spin.
1868 C. Dickens Let. 24 Feb. (2002) XII. 57 I hope that the time will soon begin to spin away.
c. transitive. To cause to pass away; to carry away or convey rapidly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)]
overdoOE
adreeOE
wreaka1300
to draw forthc1300
dispend1340
pass1340
drivea1375
wastec1381
occupyc1384
overpassa1387
to pass over ——a1393
usec1400
spend1423
contrive?a1475
overdrive1487
consumea1500
to pass forth1509
to drive off1517
lead1523
to ride out1529
to wear out, forth1530
to pass away?1550
to put offc1550
shiftc1562
to tire out1563
wear1567
to drive out1570
entertainc1570
expire1589
tire1589
outwear1590
to see out1590
outrun1592
outgo1595
overshoot1597
to pass out1603
fleeta1616
elapse1654
term1654
trickle1657
to put over1679
absorb1686
spin1696
exercise1711
kill1728
to get through ——1748
to get over ——1751
tickc1870
fill1875
society > travel > transport > [verb (transitive)] > rapidly
rush1554
whirr1609
posta1616
whirl1616
spin1696
romp1895
shoot1919
shimmy1923
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Amusement, any idle Employment to spin away time.
1877 M. Oliphant Young Musgrave I. xii. 205 Lovely horses who could spin her away over the broad country.
1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I Am vi I shall soon spin him over to Highclere.
8. figurative.a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) ii. 44 We ran a boisterous race; the year span round With giddy motion.1893 Times 15 June 9/6 The mind accustomed to spin upon the poles of Greek and pure mathematics.
a. To revolve or gyrate; to whirl round.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > revolve or rotate [verb (intransitive)] > spin
spin1667
pirouette1741
pirl1791
turbinate1797
snoove1808
twizzlea1825
teetotum1831
teetotumize1841
purl1857
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost viii. 164 The Earth..With inoffensive pace that spinning sleeps On her soft Axle. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Meleager & Atalanta in Fables 112 Quick, and more quick he spins in giddy Gires, Then falls.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 491 Thrice must the voluble and restless earth Spin round upon her axle, ere the warmth..attain the surface.
1825 W. Scott Talisman vii, in Tales Crusaders IV. 151 Dance, or we will scourge thee with our bow-strings, till thou spin as never top did under schoolboy's lash.
1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 352 Do not require a bullet to spin twice on its axis, if once is sufficient.
1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 260 Sometimes we spinned round and round like a teetotum.
b. Of the brain or head: To whirl; to be giddy or dazed.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > be or become excited [verb (intransitive)] > become dizzy with excitement (of the mind or head)
reel1579
to run round1580
swim1702
spin1819
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vertigo > have vertigo [verb (intransitive)]
turnOE
swimblea1400
whirl1561
wheel1593
whim1700
reel1701
swim1702
swirl1818
spin1819
giddy1845
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > wander in thought [verb (intransitive)] > of the mind: be confused
addle1664
spin1819
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II cx. 174 And as he gazed, his dizzy brain spun fast, And down he sunk.
1886 S. Baring-Gould Court Royal III. xlvi. 93 My head spins. I cannot think.
1894 R. L. Stevenson Lett. (1899) II. 327 My head is simply spinning with a multitude of affairs.
c. Cricket. Of a ball: to travel through the air with spin (spin n.1 2c).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (intransitive)] > motion of ball
to make haste?a1475
twist?1801
cut1816
shoot1816
curl1833
hang1838
work1838
break1847
spin1851
turn1851
bump1856
bite1867
pop1871
swerve1894
to kick up1895
nip1899
swing1900
google1907
move1938
seam1960
to play (hit, etc.) across the line1961
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field ix. 174 Clarke is not conscious of any attempt to make his ball spin or twist: a certain action has become habitual to him.
1970 N. Cardus Full Score 120 Mailey would tell me how much he revelled in the ‘feel’ of a ball spinning from his fingers.
1980 Cricketer International Apr. 83/3 Hollies..came up to bowl the next ball. It neither spun nor twisted in the air but drifted up and then down in a graceful parabola.
d. Aeronautics. Of an aircraft or its pilot: to perform or undergo a spin (spin n.1 2d).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > fly [verb (intransitive)] > spin or descend with rotor spinning
spin1914
to windmill down1978
1914 Aeroplane 1 July 17/2 If a ‘scout’ started to spin round its own nose it would never come into control again.
1918 J. M. Grider War Birds (1927) 66 I am going up to ten thousand [feet] and shut off and spin down and see what happens.
1918 War Birds (1927) 66 I am quite good at spinning but it makes me a little sick.
1929 F. A. Swoffer Learning to Fly 94 Aeroplanes do not spin very easily, and they sometimes refuse to do so even when a deliberate spin is intended.
1931 C. D. Barnard Learning to Fly 151 Only a stalled aeroplane will spin—in other words when the machine is no longer airborne.
1952 Technical Rep. Aeronaut. Res. Committee 1943 II. 755 The model usually spins more steeply and recovers from the spin more easily than the aeroplane.
e. Of a motor clutch: to continue to revolve after being disengaged.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [verb (intransitive)] > spin (of clutch)
spin1918
1918 Dyke's Automobile Encycl. (ed. 7) 662/1 When a clutch spins, when thrown out of engagement, it is difficult to shift gears.
1928 Motor Man. (ed. 27) 57 The flange..is brought into contact with the stop, which acts as a brake and prevents the cone or plate spinning.
1965 D. Kaberry Ford Corsair viii. 53/1 If the clutch is spinning, difficulty will be experienced in engaging gear, particularly from a standstill.
9.
a. transitive. To cause to turn or revolve rapidly; to twirl or whirl. Figurative phrase to spin one's wheels (U.S. colloquial), to mark time, to do nothing productive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > revolve or rotate [verb (transitive)] > spin
spin1612
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)]
emptyeOE
to tell the clock1527
idle1668
to kick one's heels1703
twirl1777
gammer1788
to twiddle one's thumbs, or fingers1846
to make (also do) kef1852
goof1932
doss1937
to sit on one's hands1939
to bugger about ——1946
to spin one's wheels1960
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > not do [verb (transitive)] > do nothing productive
to spin one's wheels1960
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > progress or advance in an action [verb (intransitive)] > make only slight progress > make no progress
to stick in the mud1603
to spin one's wheels1974
1612 T. Dekker If it be not Good ii. ii. 28 Ile turne the wheeles: and spin the howers vp faster.
1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd I. ii. i. 90 There be you, spinning your thumbs with a small child that ha'n't got no mother.
1842 R. Browning Soliloquy Spanish Cloister vii Spin him round and send him flying Off to Hell.
1870 R. W. Emerson Society & Solitude 151 The old school-house and its porch..where you spun tops and snapped marbles.
1960 Wall St. Jrnl. 15 Mar. 1 ‘We're just sitting here spinning our wheels,’ says a disgruntled Naval aviator in California.
1974 Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 19 Apr. 4/1 The Selective Service System has, in fact, done little but spin its wheels for the past 14 months.
b. To cause (a chafer) to fly while secured by a thread passed through its tail.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > other specific games > [verb (transitive)] > spin chafer
spin1801
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. iv. 291 (note) When a child I was caught by my mother..in the act of spinning a chafer.
1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & Widows I. iii. 62 To spear trout, spin cockchafers, bait cats.
c. With cognate object.
ΚΠ
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham III. iii. 14 They just walk a quadrille or spin a waltz.
d. technical. To shape (articles of sheet-metal) by pressure applied during rotation on a lathe.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > machine
turn?c1335
mill1677
to rough down1829
broach1846
spin1853
plane1875
straddle mill1898
profile1905
jig-bore1939
spark-erode1960
1853 A. Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) II. 865 ‘Raising’ by means of ‘spinning’ and stamping has to a great extent superseded the older methods of tin plate working.
1884 Birmingham Daily Post 24 Jan. 3/3 Britannia-metal Spinners.—Wanted a Man, who can Spin and Make Up.
e. Cricket. Of a bowler: to impart spin to (a ball) on delivery; to cause (the ball) to break after pitching.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (transitive)] > bowl in specific manner
twist1816
overthrow1833
to bowl over the wicket1851
overpitch1851
bump1869
york1882
to break a ball1884
flog1884
to bowl round (or formerly outside) the wicket1887
turn1898
flick1902
curl1904
spin1904
volley1909
flight1912
to give (a ball) air1920
tweak1935
move1938
overspin1940
swing1948
bounce1960
cut1960
seam1963
dolly1985
1904 Westm. Gaz. 21 May 3/1 He can spin the ordinary left-hander's break-back.
1920 D. J. Knight in P. F. Warner Cricket (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) i. 49 Rhodes and Woolley..seem to spin the ball in such a way that it gets straight up from the pitch in quite a different manner.
1960 I. Peebles Bowler's Turn 67 Geary and Macaulay cut and spun the ball at a sharp pace.
f. To make (an aircraft) perform a spin (spin n.1 2d).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [verb (transitive)] > cause aircraft to move in specific manner
bank1909
side-slip1911
slip1911
overbank1915
spin1918
yaw1920
hover1967
1918 J. M. Grider War Birds (1927) 87 Then Ortmeyer..spun a Camel into the ground and killed himself.
1928 O. Stewart Aerobatics 13 Machines fitted with Handley-Page automatic slots are extremely difficult to spin.
1930 J. L. Nayler & E. Ower Aviation To-day 326 It is said that some aeroplanes cannot be spun.
1952 Technical Rep. Aeronaut. Res. Committee 1943 II. 766 The aircraft was spun from 28,000 ft., one 21/ 2-turn spin to the left being carried out and two 21/ 2-turn spins to the right.
g. = spin-dry v. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > wash clothes [verb (transitive)] > spin or tumble dry
spin-dry1927
spin1959
tumble-dry1962
1959 Which? Aug. 92/1 Tumbler driers are intended to take washing that has either been wrung or spun to a half-dry state.
1966 D. V. Davis New Domest. Encycl. (ed. 2) iii. 127 If you spin a minimum-iron fabric while it is hot you are much more likely to press in creases.
1969 K. J. Mills Washing Wisdom vi. 98 Hook the outlet pipe over the sink. Spin for 15–20 seconds.
h. To play (a gramophone record).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > make recording [verb (transitive)] > play record or tape
play1903
spin1965
1965 Listener 23 Dec. 1036/3 If he will dust off his old Plum Label HMV 78..and spin it, he will hear Gertrude Lawrence very distinctly saying to Noël Coward: ‘Strange how potent cheap music is!’
1966 T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 v. 140 She sat alone..listening to Mucho's colleague Rabbit Warren spin records.
10. Angling.
a. transitive. To cause (a minnow or other bait) to revolve in the water by fastening it on the hook in a particular manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (transitive)] > bait a hook > spin bait
spin1824
1824 P. Hawker Instr. Young Sportsmen (ed. 3) 175 A new gut seldom spins the minnow so well as one that is half worn out.
1824 P. Hawker Instr. Young Sportsmen (ed. 3) 173 Trolling, or spinning a minnow, is the other most general mode of trout fishing.
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports 254/2 In dead water a well mounted minnow or gudgeon may be spun with great effect.
b. intransitive. To fish with a spinning bait.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (intransitive)] > fish using bait
rove1661
ledger1688
trail1857
squida1859
spin1863
chum1882
mooch1947
nymph1982
1863 ‘Ouida’ Held in Bondage I. i. 13 De Vigne, who stopped to have a glance across country as he stood trolling and spinning.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling i. 30 (note) When spinning for trout.
c. transitive. To fish (a pool, etc.), to rouse up (a fish), by means of a spinning bait.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (transitive)] > bait a hook > fish pool, etc., with specific bait
spin1886
shrimp1931
1886 Field 30 Jan. 133/3 He was to be occasionally seen spinning the weir pool and scours below Marsh Lock.
1895 Baily's Mag. May 357/2 If he does not ‘spin up’ a fish, he brings his minnow in as short as he can.
11.
a. slang. To reject (a candidate) at an examination; to pluck or plough. Usually in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > fail a candidate
to turn by1653
pluck1713
flunk1843
plough1854
spin1860
fail1884
pill1908
pip1908
zap1961
1860 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang (ed. 2) 223.
1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Aug. 9/2 The historical test is, we imagine, the one which will ‘spin’ most applicants.
1897 Brit. Weekly 7 Jan. 214/5 ‘How far through did you say he was with his medical course?’ ‘He was spun in the final,’ I answered.
b. intransitive. To fail in an examination.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > examine [verb (intransitive)] > fail examination
fizzle1847
flunk1848
to ball up1856
spin1869
muff1884
1869 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Nov. 3/2 If an ensign passes his regimental, and ‘spins’ in his special examination.
Phrasal verbs
With adverbs. PV1. (In sense I.) to spin off to spin out
1. To finish or clear off (a distaff, etc.) by spinning. (Cf. 2b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (transitive)] > spin > finish or clear off by spinning
spina1556
to spin off1601
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 549 One would imagine he saw every woman making hast to spin off her distaffe, striving avie who shall have done her taske first.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. iii. 100 It hangs like flax on a distaffe: & I hope to see a huswife take thee between her legs, & spin it off . View more context for this quotation
1690 W. Temple Ess. Poetry in Wks. (1720) I. 249 To spin off this Thread, which is already grown too long.
1735 in Heslop Northumbld. Gloss. (at cited word) Now it will be twelve o'clock And more; for I've spun off my rock.
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. A. Musæus in German Romance I. 100 She had just spun off a rock of flax.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words (at cited word) To ‘spin off a rock’—to finish off the quantity of material on the rock.
2. To throw or cast off (a composition) in a continuous or easy manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > compose with ease
to spin off1895
1895 Daily News 24 Apr. 7/4 He..used to spin off novels in the intervals between signing piles of papers.
1. To render lengthy or protracted; to protract, prolong.Used with a variety of objects, the commonest types of which are illustrated by the separate groups of quotations. Cooper (1565, at Parcæ) has ‘to spynne out the threade of mans lyfe’, and an early example of the literal use occurs in quot. 1393 at spinner n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (transitive)] > cause to endure, sustain, or prolong
lengOE
drawOE
teec1200
forlengtha1300
lengtha1300
drivec1300
tarryc1320
proloynec1350
continuec1380
to draw alonga1382
longa1382
dretch1393
conservea1398
to draw (out) in, into, at, or on lengtha1400
prorogue1419
prolongc1425
aroomc1440
prorogate?a1475
protend?a1475
dilate1489
forlong1496
relong1523
to draw out1542
sustentate1542
linger1543
defer1546
pertract1548
propagate1548
protract1548
linger1550
lengthen1555
train1556
detract?a1562
to make forth (long, longer)1565
stretch1568
extend1574
extenuate1583
dree1584
wire-draw1598
to spin out1603
trail1604
disabridge1605
produce1605
continuate1611
out-length1617
spin1629
to eke out1641
producta1670
prolongate1671
drawl1694
drag1697
perennate1698
string1867
perennialize1898
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > express copiously [verb (transitive)] > extend or prolong
to draw out1542
to drive out1572
wire-draw1598
overspina1643
to spin out1673
(a)
(b)1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 574 Therefore they spin out their liues to the length of the thread.1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xxiv They would fain spin out the most miserable life to the greatest length.1734 I. Watts Reliquiæ Juveniles (1789) 130 Thus he spun out his supple soul, and drew A length of life amidst a vicious crew.1872 Punch 19 Oct. 163/1 If I were condemned to execution, I should perhaps be inclined to spin out my time by talking till they took me off by force.(c)1633 J. Ford Broken Heart i. i. sig. B2 You spin out your discourse.1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. v. §75 This section is spun out to a length very unproportionable to the former.1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 132. ⁋10 Our innocent Conversation, which we spun out till about Ten of the Clock.1787 F. Burney Diary 19 Feb. (1842) III. 331 I..spun out into an hour's discourse what might have been said in three minutes.1813 J. C. Prichard Res. Physical Hist. Man vii. §4. 357 This sort of argument has been..so spun out by antiquaries of late times.(d)1644 W. Prynne & C. Walker True Relation Prosecution N. Fiennes 46 In this his defence (to spin out time) he led us in perambulation through all the Works, Forts, Dikes, Rampires [etc.].1673 S'too him Bayes 129 No body that hop'd to have a reprieve ever spun out time at last as thou hast done.1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) V. lxvi. 45 The French ambassadors spun out the time till the morning of the critical day.1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. iv. 439 The distance of Madras would aid the Rajah in spinning out the time till the commencement of the rains.1603 Ld. Mountjoy Let. Apr. in F. Moryson Itinerary (1617) ii. iii. ii. 282 She was still apt to beleeue that hee..would spin out all things further then were requisite, with delayes and shifts.
1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ 154 Neither is any warre so long spun out.
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa iii. ii. 282 It was done more to procrastinate, and spin out the Conclave.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. ii, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 106 Under his management the negociations were spun out to a great length.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) II. 764/1 He spun out the debate till it was too late to conclude upon anything that day.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xxi. iv. 476 Kaunitz..span out the Turk pacification in a wretched manner for years coming.
1885 Law Times 30 May 74/1 That arbitration..was spun out for forty~four days.
2. To spend or occupy (time) in inactivity or without effect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > waste time
leese?c1225
losea1340
defer1382
wastea1400
slip1435
consumea1500
superexpend1513
slow?1522
sloth1523
to fode forth1525
slack1548
dree1584
sleuth1584
confound1598
spenda1604
to fret out1608
to spin out1608
misplace1609
spend1614
tavern1628
devast1632
to drill away, on, outa1656
dulla1682
to dally away1685
squander1693
to linger awaya1704
dangle1727
dawdle1768
slim1812
diddle1826
to run out the clock1957
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > cause to be idle or inactive [verb (transitive)] > occupy oneself triflingly with > kill (time or a period)
to blow (on) one's nails1566
to spin out1608
murder1700
kill1728
to bite one's nails1883
1608–14 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Court of Requests (1898) Introd. 96 Counsell..doe..Spyne and Trifle out one or two termes about the exceptions.
1646 H. Peake Medit. upon Seige 42 Although I die at twenty, I have lived more then he that hath spunne out a hundred uselesse yeares.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 108 Those People are..lazy, and have no Concern but to spin out the Day.
1789 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 127 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 I shall endeavour to spin out the remainder of my days as comfortably as my situation can permit.
3. To evolve or devise by mental effort; to express at length.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > express at length
to spin outa1651
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > inventive or creative faculty > contrive, devise, or invent [verb (transitive)]
findeOE
conceive1340
seek1340
brewc1386
divine1393
to find outc1405
to search outc1425
to find up?c1430
forgec1430
upfindc1440
commentc1450
to dream out1533
inventa1538
father1548
spina1575
coin1580
conceit1591
mint1593
spawn1594
cook1599
infantize1619
fabulize1633
notionate1645
to make upc1650
to spin outa1651
to cook up1655
to strike out1735
mother1788
to think up1855
to noodle out1950
gin1980
a1651 N. Culverwell Elegant Disc. Light of Nature (1652) i. xi. 115 Mans reason is fain to spend time..in spinning out a Syllogisme.
1663 A. Marvell Let. 20 July in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 254 I haue no more time left to spin out in words the kindnesse wch I acknowledge from you and beare to you.
1736 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 466/2 How many hundred Declarations has Caleb D'Anvers spun out from a Thread of this Clue.
1828 W. Scott Aunt Margaret's Mirror Introd. The sort of waking dreams which my imagination spins out.
1864 W. M. Thackeray Denis Duval (1869) viii. 107 He could spin out sentences by the yard.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 426 To be spinning out a long soliloquy or address, as if I wanted to show off.
4. To draw out, extend, prolong, in length or duration.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > express copiously [verb (transitive)] > extend or prolong > express at length
to spin out1658
1658 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 2nd Pt. 36 He who is spun out at length, but not thicken'd sutable to his height.
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xxxix The Paracelsian promise of spinning out the life of man to a length equal with the clew of time.
1717 M. Prior Alma iii. 539 Would she, in friendship, peace, and plenty Spin out our years to four times twenty.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xx. i. 5 Prince Henri and Fouquet have spun themselves out into a long chain of posts.
5. To bring to an end; to consume or exhaust. Chiefly reflexive or in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > use up, expend, or consume [verb (transitive)] > use up completely or exhaust
stanch1338
exhaust1541
soak1577
tire1589
to suck dry1592
to run away with1622
exantlate1660
to spin out1718
rack1778
overteem1818
deplete1850
to stream out1894
1718 Entertainer No. 35. 236 To beat the wind, and spider-like, to spin out ones self for those who will not thank him for it.
1728 A. Ramsay Fox turned Preacher in Fables & Tales 51 His glass spun out, he ceast.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xi. vii. 308 My brain is fairly spun out.
6. To cause to last out; to use sparingly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > sparingness or frugality > use sparingly or frugally [verb (transitive)]
sparec1000
spelec1175
to spare for14..
inch out1636
tape1721
to spin out1726
scrimpa1752
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World x. 328 We might have spun out what we had by good husbandry.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles I. xvi. 195 We must spin the money out..until something comes in.
7. intransitive. To run out; to extend; to last out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > grow longer or extend
longOE
reacha1325
lengthc1400
prolong1449
stretcha1616
pretend1655
to spin out1720
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > be insufficient [verb (intransitive)] > become scanty or scarce > run out
tirec725
failc1250
dispend1393
wanta1425
expirec1515
defect1587
to run out1685
to fall short1694
to spin out1720
to run short1850
to give out1861
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 274 The Time spinning out, [they] demanded longer Time.
1758 J. Burton Monasticon Eboracense Pref. p. xi This preface has spun out to a greater length than I expected.
1891 C. Roberts Adrift in Amer. 51 In my..state of ignorance with regard to making money spin out.
PV2. (In sense II.) to spin down to spin off to spin out to spin up
1. transitive. Biology. To centrifuge so as to cause the separation of components.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [verb (transitive)] > centrifugation techniques
to spin down1947
1947 L. V. Ackerman & J. A. Del Regato Cancer xiv. 817 The fluid is spun down and sectioned.
1965 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 54 400 A unit of blood was drawn into a heparin receiving pack and spun down slowly for 15–20 min.
1978 Sci. Amer. Dec. 30/2 If the unbonded cells are then spun down into a mixed-up mass and given fluid containing antibiotics and the right salts, new hydras form in a few days.
2. intransitive. Astronomy. Of a rotating body, esp. a star: to rotate more slowly, usually because of decreasing angular momentum. Also transitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > star > stellar motion > rotate [verb]
to spin down1967
to spin up1967
1967 Nature 24 June 1297/2 The boundary layer suction causes a slow internal motion which stretches vortex lines and spins down the solar interior.
1967 Nature 24 June 1299/1 The region itself spins down quickly.
1976 Sci. News 30 Oct. 280 This pulsar is spinning down so slowly that when the effects of its motion across the sky on its apparent (to us) spin rate are considered, it may actually be spinning up from the point of view of someone riding along with it.
1979 Nature 22 Feb. 602/2 Any loss of radiation from the region will transport vast quantities of angular momentum away from the rotating body. The reaction back on the body itself will cause it to spin down.
1. transitive. To throw off by or as if by centrifugal force in spinning; frequently figurative, esp. (a) U.S. Commerce, to distribute (stock of a new company) to shareholders of a parent company; to create (a company) in this way; (b) to produce as a by-product, side-effect, or indirect benefit.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > run a business [verb (transitive)] > manner of forming company
pyramid1926
to spin off1957
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [verb (transitive)] > throw off by centrifugal force
to spin off1957
the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > result [verb (intransitive)] > have an unintended or unwanted effect > be a side-effect
to spin off1957
1957 N.Y. Times 9 June f1/3 Right now, there is considerable speculation that du Pont will ‘spin off’ its G.M. stock—that is, give it to its own stockholders in the form of a dividend.
1959 Wall St. Jrnl. 20 May 1/5 A subsidiary set up in early 1950 to rent out space in an engineering firm's new building was spun off in December, 1954.
1964 Science 29 May 1113 The Systems Development Corporation (SDC) was ‘spun off’ by RAND in 1956 to help specifically with design and programming for the first computerized air defense system.
1969 Physics Bull. June 215/2 If..pulsars are neutron stars,..then these could rotate at up to 103 Hz; they would ‘spin off’ electrons (or plasma) which would be accelerated in the star's magnetic field.
1969 Wall St. Jrnl. 3 July 4/2 The publicly owned company then ‘spins off’ those shares to its holders, who, in turn, often sell the shares to other traders.
1972 Real Estate Rev. Winter 5/2 A black who has invested his savings in a commercial or residential venture is not permitted..to parlay small investments into big ones by spinning them off through refinancing vehicles.
1972 Publishers Weekly 4 Dec. 35/1 From the file, the publisher can now produce updated editions with minimum effort, and can spin off subsidiary products as well.
1974 Nature 29 Mar. 459/2 Several papers have already been spun off from discussions and presentations at the CETI conference.
1977 Time 10 Jan. 47/3 Tandy Corp. has spun off most of its other businesses into separate companies chaired by Charles Tandy.
1979 Daily Tel. 15 Jan. 5/6 ‘Softly, Softly’ was spun off ‘Z Cars’ and no one complained about that.
2. intransitive. To be thrown or move off by or as if by centrifugal force in spinning; usually figurative.
ΚΠ
1969 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 Jan. 33/2 (advt.) More interesting, however, is the way in which the material is organized to allow the class or individuals to spin-off into the study of related problems.
1969 Sci. Jrnl. Nov. 74 People have claimed..that space is a great thing because all the technology evolved will ultimately spin-off to the commercial market place.
1971 New Scientist 4 Mar. 488/1 These small companies specialising in technologically advanced products have ‘spun off’ largely from powerful local universities.
1971 Daily Tel. 6 Aug. (Colour Suppl.) 12/4 This prestige spins off to make Europeans more and more rail conscious.
intransitive. Of a vehicle: to skid round out of control. North American slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > movement of vehicles > move or go along [verb (intransitive)] > spin out of control
to spin out1954
1954 Amer. Speech 29 102 Last Sunday some car spun out and hit five parked cars.
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 150 Spin out, to lose traction on a slippery road.
Astronomy. Of a rotating body, esp. a star: to rotate more quickly because of a gain in angular momentum or a redistribution of matter. Also transitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > star > stellar motion > rotate [verb]
to spin down1967
to spin up1967
1967 Nature 24 June 1299/1 If the interior were rotating at the rapid rate suggested by Dicke, the convective envelope would be spun up to this rate in a very short time.
1974 Nature 29 Nov. 366/1 As the Sun evolves, its rotating core gets smaller while its outer part spins up.
1976 [see to spin down 2 at Phrasal verbs 2]. 1978 Nature 16 Feb. 635/1 Before the neutron star starts to accrete and spin up..it spends a comparatively long time being spun down in the weak stellar wind of its companion.
1979 Nature 11 Jan. 116/1 The neutron star would be spun up in the process.
Compounds
spin-'em-round n. a game of chance (see quot. 1859); also dialect, a merry-go-round. spin-heat n. the rotatory form of heat-energy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > thermodynamics > [noun] > specific properties
spin-heat1851
total heat1851
work function1878
enthalpy1909
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun] > fairground ride > merry-go-round
carousel1673
whimsic chair?c1684
whimsy1684
merry-go-round1729
roundabout1763
turnabout1789
whirligig1816
spin-'em-round1851
go-round1857
whirly-go-round1865
merry-go-around1873
giddy-go-round1879
go-around1888
razzle-dazzle1890
joy-wheel1911
chairoplane1922
whip1925
Noah's Ark1945
waltzer1961
swirl1962
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > other games of chance > [noun]
even or odd1538
love1585
Jack-in-the-box?1593
under-hat1629
pluck-penny1643
morra1659
catch-dolt1674
shuffle-cap1712
fair chance1723
E O1751
teetotum1753
rondo1821
cut-throat1823
hop-my-fool1824
odds and evens1841
spin-'em-round1851
halfpenny under the hat1853
racehorses1853
fan-tan1878
tan1883
pakapoo1886
legality1888
petits chevaux1891
pai gow1906
boule1911
put and take1921
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 4/1 The Proprietors of Street Games, as swings,..down the dolly, spin-'em-rounds, prick the garter, thimble-rig, [etc.].
1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 98 Spin-em-rounds, a street game consisting of a piece of brass, wood, or iron, balanced on a pin and turned quickly around on a board, when the point, arrow shaped, stops at a number and decides the bet one way or the other.
1899 N. Lockyer in Nature 20 Apr. 585/2 To get concrete images of these effects we spoke of path-heat, spin-heat, and wobble-heat.
Draft additions 1993
transitive. Of a veterinary surgeon: to reject or disqualify (a horse), esp. from a competition. Frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > refusal > [verb (transitive)] > reject > reject or disqualify
spin1974
1974 T. Fitzgeorge-Parker Vincent O'Brien i. 12 He was twice sold to big English owners, but each deal broke down because the vets ‘spun’ him for his wind.
1985 Eventing Oct. 29/2 A further two were spun by the inspection committee,..which put paid to the Italian team's chances.
1987 Carriage Driving Spring 12/1 Unsuitable mounts, poor tack, worn shoes and unfit riders..resulted in competitors being ‘spun’ well before the completion of the ride.
Draft additions December 2003
transitive. British Police slang and Prison slang. To search (a place) for stolen goods, illegal substances, etc.; to search the house or cell of (a person). Originally and frequently in to spin the drum and variants (cf. drum n.3 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search (a place) > search through (a place)
upseekc1315
scourc1380
pickc1395
scumc1420
skirra1616
spin1972
1972 R. Busby Reasonable Man xix. 177 Did he object to you spinning his drum?
1982 J. Barnett Marked for Destruction xiii. 160 We iron him to the bannisters while we spin the drum from top to bottom.
1982 P. Inchbald Sweet Short Grass xix. 162 ‘We've spun it.’ Spinning the drum means searching premises.
1993 G. F. Newman Law & Order (rev. ed.) 193 You spun a villain called Harding... We've picked up a whisper that he's supposed to be making one [sc. a complaint].
1994 N. Parker Parkhurst Tales ix. 100 It was only in very unusual circumstances that the screws would spin someone during association time.
Draft additions March 2004
intransitive. Of a cyclist: to ride, esp. at high speed; spec. to pedal very quickly and fluidly.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > cycling > cycle [verb (intransitive)] > cycle at furious pace
scorch1891
spin1978
1978 N.Y. Times 24 Apr. c13/1 It's spring..and the cyclists are spinning along—and away.
1981 Bicycling May 22/1 Allow yourself 15 to 20 minutes to warm up, spinning in a low gear at 90 rpm or a little more.
1998 Cycling & Mountain Biking Today Apr. 2/1 A fixed-wheel fitted track bike for spinning round the vélodrome.
2003 Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) (Nexis) 28 June a5 Cyclists spin by on practice runs through the race route, dodging the cars that have sneaked through the barricades.
Draft additions March 2021
transitive. colloquial. Chiefly Politics. To give (an event) a particular emphasis or bias, esp. one that is favourable to a specific person or party; to put a spin on (a news story): cf. spin n.1 Additions.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > mental attitude, point of view > view in particular way [verb (transitive)] > present in particular way
skew1872
slant1939
angle1944
spin1988
1988 Boston Sunday Globe 27 Nov. 26/4 Just as in the presidential campaign, the candidates are eager to ‘spin’ the story in their favor.
1996 Frank 8 May 12/1 Poor marks for [his]..attempts to spin the news that his riding association stupidly subsidized his golf-club membership and wardrobe.
2020 @JasonDHaan 29 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 6 Oct. 2020) If [he]..does poorly in tonight's debate, what will he say to spin it so he's the winner?
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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