Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Bobbin

Bob′bin (·bĭn), n. [F. bobine; of uncertain origin; cf. L. bombus a humming, from the noise it makes, or Ir. & Gael. baban tassel, or E. bob.] 1. A small pin, or cylinder, formerly of bone, now most commonly of wood, used in the making of pillow lace. Each thread is wound on a separate bobbin which hangs down holding the thread at a slight tension.

2. A spool or reel of various material and construction, with a head at one or both ends, and sometimes with a hole bored through its length by which it may be placed on a spindle or pivot. It is used to hold yarn or thread, as in spinning or warping machines, looms, sewing machines, etc.

3. The little rounded piece of wood, at the end of a latch string, which is pulled to raise the latch.

4. (Haberdashery) A fine cord or narrow braid.

5. (Elec.) A cylindrical or spool-shaped coil or insulated wire, usually containing a core of soft iron which becomes magnetic when the wire is traversed by an electrical current.

Bobbin and fly frame, a roving machine. — Bobbin lace, lace made on a pillow with bobbins; pillow lace.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.