heddle

[hed-l]

noun

1. one of the sets of vertical cords or wires in a loom, forming the principal part of the harness that guides the warp threads.

heddle

/ ˈhɛdəl /

noun

1. one of a set of frames of vertical wires on a loom, each wire having an eye through which a warp thread can be passed

Word History and Origins

Origin of heddle¹

1505–15; perhaps representing Old English *hefedl, a metathetic variant of hefeld ( Middle English helde, ModE heald ), cognate with Old Saxon hevild; akin to Old Norse hafald

Word History and Origins

Origin of heddle¹

Old English hefeld chain; related to Old Norse hafald, Middle Low German hevelte

Example Sentences

The fabric is warped with men's intestines and firmly weighted with men's heads; bloodstained spears serve as heddle rods, the shed is ironclad, and pegged with arrows.

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Holding a heddle rod to separate the warp threads, she draws the continuous horizontal weft thread in and out of one or more warp threads.

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Heddle had breast and lymph-node cancer followed by melanoma and brain cancer for six years.

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Heddle also earned gold in the women’s eight in 1992.

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Heddle and McBean carried Canada’s flag at the closing ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Games.

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