bobbin

[bob-in]

noun

1. a reel, cylinder, or spool upon which yarn or thread is wound, as used in spinning, machine sewing, lacemaking, etc.

2. Electricity.

   1. a spoollike form around which a coil of insulated wire is wound to provide an inductance.

   2. the coil itself.

bobbin

/ ˈbɒbɪn /

noun

1. a spool or reel on which thread or yarn is wound, being unwound as required; spool; reel

2. narrow braid or cord used as binding or for trimming

3. a device consisting of a short bar and a length of string, used to control a wooden door latch

4. 1. a spool on which insulated wire is wound to form the coil of a small electromagnetic device, such as a bell or buzzer

   2. the coil of such a spool

5. slang,  (plural) matter that is worthless or of inferior quality; rubbish

Word History and Origins

Origin of bobbin¹

1520–30; < Middle French bobine hank of thread, perhaps bob- an expressive base akin to bob ² + -ine -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of bobbin¹

C16: from Old French bobine , of unknown origin

Example Sentences

The southeast space had lots of cloth fragments, along with bobbins and loom weights.

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The large courtyard was sunlit and humming with busyness, as twelve women sat at large frames making bobbin lace.

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Threads and wool of all colors, bobbins, tools and spinning wheels are everywhere.

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At 13, he worked in an Allegheny cotton mill, changing bobbins 6 days a week, 12 hours a day.

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A few days later, antislavery members lined up behind the American Party’s “Bobbin Boy” Banks, who as a boy worked in a textile factory carrying bobbins of thread to the women who operated the looms.

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