heddle

[ hed-l ]

/ ˈhɛd l /

noun

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

Nearby words

hectometre, hector, hectostere, hecuba, hedda gabler, heddle, hedenbergite, heder, hedera, hedge, hedge apple

Origin of heddle

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heddle

The Greek loom may have been furnished with a heddle but the drawings are not clear on this point.
Ancient Egyptian and Greek Looms|H. Ling Roth
I have an idea it is a reference to some bird; Mr. Heddle thinks it has something to do with seals, but neither of us knows.
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang
Prof. Kennedy argues that these rods are in the wrong position and that D1 which is a heddle should be in the place of D2.
Ancient Egyptian and Greek Looms|H. Ling Roth
Thus with the raising and lowering of the heddle the weft is passed backward and forward and the weaving goes on quite rapidly.
Stories of Useful Inventions|Samuel Eagle Foreman

The next movement of the heddle frame crossed the threads over the filling and made a new opening for the return of the shuttle.
Textiles and Clothing|Kate Heintz Watson

British Dictionary definitions for heddle

heddle

/ (ˈhɛdəl) /

noun

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 Origin for heddle

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012