spinning jenny

American  

noun

1. an early spinning machine having more than one spindle, enabling a person to spin a number of yarns simultaneously.

---

spinning jenny British  

noun

1. an early type of spinning frame with several spindles, invented by James Hargreaves in 1764

---

Etymology

Origin of spinning jenny

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

While the spinning jenny was key to 18th century automation of the textiles industry, they found it led to longer working hours in harsher conditions.

From Reuters • Aug. 7, 2023

The first was technological innovation in the industrial north; spinning machines, the invention of the flying shuttle, the spinning jenny and power looms were the forerunners of the Industrial Revolution.

From Economist • Dec. 30, 2014

But Glass is just as embedded in the larger transformations we are going through as the spinning jenny was to the Industrial Revolution.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2014

The price of labor in England and the United States has multiplied several fold since the invention of the steam engine, the spinning jenny, the cotton gin and the power loom.”

From Scientific American • Sep. 16, 2013

There is a direct line of descent from the Strasbourg clock to the spinning jenny.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton