heddle

American  

[hed-l] / ˈhɛd 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.

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heddle British  

/ 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

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Etymology

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heddle

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.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 15, 2022

First: by the action of one foot-treadle one harness or heddle, holding every alternate warp-thread, is depressed from the level of the entire expanse of warp-threads.

From Home Life in Colonial Days by Alice Morse Earle

It may be that one of the two rods is a heddle rod the indication being the fine double lines, but this may not be compatible with the hook at the end of the rod.

From Ancient Egyptian and Greek Looms by H. Ling (Henry Ling) Roth

Napoleon’s blockade, which curtailed Great Britain’s importation of silk—needed not only for fabrics but also for making heddle strings for the looms—stimulated the production of cotton thread there.

From The Invention of the Sewing Machine by Grace Rogers Cooper

By raising or lowering the heddle frame, an opening was formed through which the filling thread, wound on a rude shuttle, was thrown.

From Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson

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