spinning jenny

American  

noun

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

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spinning jenny British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of spinning jenny

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spinning jenny

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 process began in England, where the invention of the spinning jenny enabled a single worker to make thread on six or seven spindles at once, and subsequent improvements increased this number rapidly.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

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

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

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton