throstle

[ thros-uh l ]

/ ˈθrɒs əl /

noun

British (chiefly Literary ). the song thrush.

Obsolete. a machine for spinning wool, cotton, etc., in which the twisting and winding are simultaneous and continuous.

Nearby words

Origin of throstle

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch drossel, German Drossel; akin to Old Norse thrǫstr, Latin turdus thrush

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

Examples from the Web for throstle

All this meant victory for his dearest hopes, and so he leapt to his feet, and marched off whistling like the throstle.
Bulldog And Butterfly|David Christie Murray
I have nothing to commend me—no beautiful song like the nightingale or the throstle, no grace of form such as the swallows have.
Beasts & Men|Jean de Bosschre
There's my little lad Aaron, he's got a gift—he can sing a tune off straight, like a throstle.
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 13|Various
He was also employing a number of women upon a different description of wheels, and others in throstle spinning.
Women in Modern Industry|B. L. Hutchins

All in vain; the great bird of prey bore down upon him like a hawk upon a throstle, gaining, gaining every moment.
The Monarchs of the Main, Volume I (of 3)|Walter Thornbury

British Dictionary definitions for throstle

throstle

/ (ˈθrɒsəl) /

noun

a poetic name for the thrush, esp the song thrush

a spinning machine for wool or cotton in which the fibres are twisted and wound continuously

Word Origin for throstle

Old English; related to Old Saxon throsla, Old Norse thröstr, Middle High German drostel

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

Word Origin and History for throstle

throstle

"thrush," Old English þrostle, from Proto-Germanic *thrustalo (cf. Old Saxon throsla, Old High German droscala, German Drossel "thrush"), altered from (perhaps a diminutive of) *thurstaz (see thrush (n.1)), though OED considers this a distinct word from the same PIE root.