| 释义 |
▪ I. reel, n.1|riːl|
Forms: 1 hréol, réol, 5–6 rele, (5 real, re(y)lle, 6 reill, 8 reil), 5–7 reele, 7– reel.
[OE. hréol, not represented in the cognate languages: cf. reel v.1
Both sense and form are against connexion with ON. hræll, weaver's slay, which has been suggested. Gaelic ruidhil is from Eng.]
1. a. A rotatory instrument on which thread is wound after it is spun, or silk as it is drawn from the cocoons, and from which it may again be easily wound off upon bobbins or spools.
The reel now commonly used is an open framework, consisting of a horizontal axis with radiating arms at each end, which carry bars extending parallel to the axis, so that the whole has a cylindrical form. The circumference of the reel is in some cases made of such dimensions that in a given number of revolutions it takes up a certain length of thread, forming a skein or hank. The older reels used in connexion with the spindle or spinning-wheel were of simpler forms (cf. quot. 1727–41).
c1050Suppl. ælfric's Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 187/19 Alibrum, hreol. a1100Gerefa in Anglia IX. 263 Spinle, reol, ᵹearnwindan. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 5939 Sche halpe him wel with Real & Rok. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 564/32 Appendium, a yernwynder, or a reel. c1440Promp. Parv. 428/2 Reel, womannys ynstrument, alabrum. 1530Palsgr. 261/2 Rele for yarne, deuidover. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 693 Ilk ane [had] in hand ane Reill..To reill thair hankis so small of reid gold wyir. 1611Cotgr., Guindre, a reele, or wheele to wind silke on. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 493 The Sisters turn the Wheel, Empty the woolly Rack, and fill the Reel. 1727–41Chambers Cycl. s.v., Those most in use are, 1°, A little reel, held in the hand, consisting of three pieces of wood;..2°, The common reel, or windlace, which turns upon a pivot..whereon the skain to be reeled is put. 1766Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 III. 458 The reels are to screw on the edge of the table, when you would wind silk or thread. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 387 These reels are of a sufficient breadth to wind off about 50 cops..at the same time. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 1114 The arm..is capable of being bent inwards,..so as to permit the hanks, when finished, to be taken off, as in every common reel. 1894Cassell's New Techn. Educ. IV. 369 The reel is now almost always driven by power, the driving gear being a friction pulley on a cross shaft.
Phr.c1460Towneley Myst. iii. 298 Ther is garn on the reyll other, my dame.
b. A similar framework on which other materials are wound at some stage in the process of manufacture, as the separate spun-yarns in rope-making, paper as it comes from the machine (hence also, the continuous roll of paper thus produced, as used in web-printing), etc.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVI. 483/2 The first spinner takes it off the whirl hook, joins it to his own, that it may follow it on the reel, and begins a new yarn. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 369 The paper..is passed between a series of similar cylinders, and finally delivered to a reel, and wound off in a coil. Ibid. 370 The frame in being forced towards the reel of paper presses the arms down. 1890W. J. Gordon Foundry 198 Forty-three years ago Applegath proposed to print from the reel.
c. An upright revolving frame used in wire-drawing.
1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 347 The wire to be drawn is placed upon a reel..which turns upon a vertical pin. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 338 As soon as the wire is entirely drawn off the reel..and has passed through the plate [etc.].
2. a. An apparatus (of varying form and dimensions) capable of easy revolution, by which a cord, line, etc., may be wound up and unwound as required.
1727–41Chambers Cycl. s.v. Log-line, a little cord..wound round a reel, fixed for that purpose in the gallery of the ship. 1765Museum Rust. IV. 310 That mine might stand with all possible exactness, each man had a garden-line and reel. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine s.v. Log, The reel,..about which the log-line is wound. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 566 The log-reel for the log-line, deep-sea reel (which contains the deep-sea line),..&c. ‘She went 10 knots off the reel’—i.e. by the log-line. 1884Blakelee Industr. Cycl. 123 Cheap Garden Reel.
b. A device of this kind attached to the butt of a fishing-rod, on which the line is wound up.
The usual type consists of two circular metal plates, so joined by a few small rods as to form a cylindrical case with open sides, and having a central barrel on which the line is wound.
1726Gentleman Angler 3 He must have a Landing-Hook, Reels for his Silk Lines [etc.]. 1740R. Brookes Art of Angling 9 Your Line must be of Silk..; there must likewise be a Reel to wind it upon. 1833J. Rennie Alph. Angling 55 The..angler is provided with a long line wound on a reel. 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe III. 201 The old gentleman began to wind up his reel, and then the lad..lifted the fish. 1892Niven Brit. Angler's Lex. 190 Reels are made in several designs, such as plain, check, revolving plate, multipliers [etc.].
c. off the reel, without stopping, in an uninterrupted course or succession; also, immediately, quickly; so right (or † sharp) off the reel.
1825J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. vi. 156 So then, says he to me, says he; sharp off the reel;—as 'cute a feller, that, as ever you seed. 1833J. K. Pauling Banks of Ohio II. v. 78 I'd as good a mind as I ever had to shoot a wild deer, to have a fight with him off the reel, and settle the right of soil at once. 1835Gentleman's Vade-Mecum (Philadelphia) 14 Feb. 3/1 Where's my old man—tell me that..where's Tom Bloomberg—tell us right off the reel. 1866Dickens Let. 20 Feb., [The story] seems to me to be so constituted as to require to be read ‘off the reel’. 1880Sala in Illustr. Lond. News 25 Dec. 619 Can you always say pusillanimity right off the reel? 1884St. James's Gaz. 13 June 4/1 He won five races off the reel. 1900Ade Fables in Slang 27 He could tell you quick—right off the reel. 1927Daily Tel. 3 May 17/2 The Eton XI..were undefeated, having scored four victories off the reel. 1941J. Smiley Hash House Lingo 40 Off the reel, added to an order to signify a ‘rush order’. 1946Sunday Dispatch 8 Sept. 6/5 Won six races off the reel for Wembley Cubs. 1951F. Yerby Woman called Fancy ii. 44 ‘You want to bring me back?’ Court said. ‘Why, little Fancy?’ ‘Can't answer that—not right off the reel. Don't rightly know myself.’
3. a. A small cylinder, usually of wood, with a rim or wider part at each end, on which thread is commonly wound to be convenient for ordinary use; a quantity of thread made up in this way.
1784Cowper Task iv. 264 Weaving nets..Or twining silken threads round ivory reels. 1814Scott Wav. lxv, He looked not unlike that ingenious puzzle called a reel in a bottle. 1840Hood Kilmansegg, Death xi, Her golden scissors, and thread and reels. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt v, Dispersing on the floor reels, thimble, muslin-work [etc.].
b. A small cylinder on which any flexible substance is wound, as the coil of wire in a magneto-electric machine, the strip of paper in a recording telegraph, etc.; spec. the flanged cylinder or core on which magnetic tape or punched paper tape is wound; also transf., a length of tape wound on such a cylinder.
1839G. Bird Nat. Philos. 270 Winding on a wooden reel, about three inches in length, with a hollow axis, about sixty feet of insulated copper wire. 1939Wireless World 19 June 611/2 (caption) The necessary controls, together with the reels of steel tape, are mounted on top of the [recording] cabinet. 1953E. T. Canby Home Music Syst. xiii. 227 The reel size is seven inches. 1956RCA Rev. XVII. 366 The tape is unwound from a reel..and after passing over the video heads, is pulled by the capstan. 1958H. G. M. Spratt Magnetic Tape Recording iii. 55 The tape..when wound on the normal type of spool employed, will result in a reel ranging from 5–12 in. in diameter. 1964Communications Assoc. Computing Machinery VII. 630/1 This standard covers the physical dimensions of take-up (or storage) reels, with either fixed or separable flanges, so that reels of perforated tape may be interchanged among machines of various manufacturers. 1977T. Allbeury Man with President's Mind ix. 101 The video tapes..were..sent in a special top priority diplomatic bag to Moscow. The priority was so high that the reels were not even rewound before despatch.
c. Cinemat. and Photogr. A flanged cylinder on which film is wound; usu. transf., a length of film wound on such a cylinder; loosely, a (long) portion of a motion picture; also, † the spool on which photographs were mounted in a mutoscope (see quot. 1901).
In early usage in Cinemat., reel was restricted in signification to a fixed length of film, normally one thousand feet at 35 mm. gauge, complete films being called two-reelers, etc. (see reeler1 3). The word is now used of other fixed lengths, of standard lengths of film at other gauges, and also without regard to length.
1896Queen Victoria Jrnl. 3 Oct. (1980) 222 The new cinematograph process,—which makes moving pictures by winding off a reel of film. 1901Everybody's Mag. Aug. 230/2 Ordinary photographs are printed from the negative film and mounted on a central spool, from nine hundred to twenty-seven hundred pictures to a ‘reel’, as it is called. 1912Maclean's Mag. Apr. 634/1 It is comprised in three ‘reels’, which means that there are 3,000 feet of film, requiring a full hour to run. 1915Chicago Herald 1 Nov. 8/5 ‘The Sentimental Lady’ is five reels of whipped cream lightness and frothy texture. 1916F. H. Richardson Motion Picture Handbk. (ed. 3) 198 There has been some inclination to increase the size of reels to two and even three thousand feet... One thousand feet of film has been and should continue to be the standard reel of film. 1921B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? iv. 51 People..become characters in Hollywood movies... In the last reel the good brother has to be killed off so that the bad brother can be regenerated. Ibid. xi. 193 Two-reel horse-operas. 1968Tamarack Rev. Spring 9 He was waiting for the others to arrive so they could run through the second reel together. 1972Daily Tel. 19 June 24/4, I don't know what I took. I know I shot three reels—36 pictures on each—but don't ask me what is on them.
d. reel-to-reel attrib. phr.: applied to a form of tape-recorder in which tape passes between two reels which are mounted separately on the recorder (cf. open-reel s.v. open a. 22 c; contrast cassette d and cartridge 1 d (iii)); also to the tape used in such a machine; also absol.
1961N.Y. Times 10 Sept. ii. 15/3 ‘Reel-to-reel’ machines move the tape..from an open supply reel to a take-up reel. 1967Tape Recording Mag. Jan. 12/2 Transferring recording material on to an orthodox quarter-inch tape reel-to-reel model. 1975Gramophone Jan. 1389 (Advt.), It will make going in for tape much more worthwhile—cassette or reel-to-reel or both. 1976Broadcast 29 Nov. 15/1 Capitol Records..wants..listeners..to send cassettes or reel-to reel tapes of their vocal efforts. 1977Design Engin. July 97/2 A range of two and four channel cassette tape recorders offers recording facilities usually associated with reel-to-reel instruments.
4. a. A rotatory apparatus facilitating or causing motion of the material in the processes of dyeing cloth or tarring yarn.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 421 [The ‘long reel’ is described.] The continuous motion of the series of pieces of goods..which are made to travel by the incessant rotations of the reel. Ibid. 1072 In tarring the yarn, it is found favourable..to allow it to pass around or under a reel or roller in the bottom of the kettle. 1894Cassell's New Techn. Educ. IV. 24 This [band] is supported and drawn continuously through the liquor by means of a reel or winch placed above, and driven by power.
b. In milling, the drum on which the bolting-cloth is fastened.
1845Encycl. Metrop. (ed. 2) VIII. 366/2 The bolting-mill consists of a reel fitted to an axle which revolves with great rapidity; the reel is covered with cloth..in the inside of which the flour is to be prepared is placed.
c. A revolving frame, having radiating arms with pans attached, in which bread is placed for baking.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1905/2 The reel has a horizontal axis, which is rotated by gearing on the outside. To each arm of the reel..is a pendulous shelf or bread-pan.
d. In a reaping-machine, an arrangement of radial arms with horizontal bars at their extremities, which by its rotation presses the grain towards the knives.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1890/2 The machine..had a reel with twelve vanes to press the grain toward the cutters.
†5. A humming or buzzing noise, like that of a reel in motion. Obs. rare—1. (Possibly connected with reel n.2 3; but cf. reel v.2 4.)
1747R. Maxwell Bee Master (1750) 35 By this time also, the Drones will begin to make their Appearance, and your Hive will be making a Reel, as we call it, once every Day.
6. attrib. and Comb., as reel-arm, reel-clutch, reel line, reel-maker, reel measure, reel-plate, reel protector, reel-seat, reel-shaft, reel stand, reel swift; reel-winding adj.; reel-backing U.S. local (see quot. 1976); reel barge, a barge, carrying extended lengths of pipe coiled on a reel, which is used to lay submarine pipelines; also attrib.; reel boy, a boy attending to the reeling of yarn, etc.; reel-fed a. Printing, using reeled paper; reel-land nonce-wd., the world of the cinematograph; reel man, a sailor who holds the reel from which a log-line depends; reel oven (see quot. and 4 c above); reel-printing (see quot. and 1 b); reel-room, the room in a cinema where reels of cinematographic films are kept; reel ship, a self-powered ship performing the function of a reel barge; † reel-staff, ? a hank or skein; reel-tenter, one who attends upon a silk-reel; reel timing, a method of playing certain kinds of slot machine (see quot.).
Also in many other combs. relating to fishing-reels, as reel-band, -bed, -brake, -check, -click, -keeper, etc.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1905/2 The pans, instead of being pendulous, are placed above the *reel-arms.
1959W. Faulkner Mansion xii. 346 His uncle had the gun..a black strong small-gauge length of *reel-backing running from the trigger through a series of screw eyes to the sash of the window screen. 1976C. S. Brown Gloss. Faulkner's South 161 Reel-backing.., a heavy (often old) length of fishing-line wound as the first layer on a fishing reel, and hence the last piece if the entire line is reeled out.
1972Study of Potential Benefits Offshore Oil & Gas Devel. (Internat. Managem. & Engin. Group of Brit. Ltd.) x. 80 There is also the highly promising *reel-barge technique, which, however, has so far been limited to comparatively small diameter pipe. 1975Offshore Aug. 121/1 Santa Fe International Corp's reel barge Chickasaw has successfully laid a 10-in pipeline in more than 1,000 feet of water. 1975[see pipe-lay n.]. 1975Offshore Progress (Shell Internat. Petroleum Co.) 17 Another technique which has been used for some time in the Gulf of Mexico for small-diameter pipelines is the reel barge: the pipe is welded together on-shore (thereby minimizing expensive offshore time) and coiled on a reel. The barge is then pulled along the right of way, unreeling pipe behind it.
1918Nation (N.Y.) 7 Feb. 130/1 Defeating the man in whose flax mill he had worked as a *reel boy.
1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 224 For throwing the *reel-clutches in and out of gear.
1946V. S. Ganderton in H. Whetton Pract. Printing & Binding xii. 153/1 Multi-colour rotaries and methods have been brought to a high degree of perfection... They are either sheet- or *reel-fed, but the delivery is flat. 1971D. Potter Brit. Eliz. Stamps xiv. 150 Reel-fed printing takes the paper into the press on a continuous reel, and the printed sheets are later divided.
1926Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 605/1 Some..would fain have treated her much in the style of those who at the present day mob the stars of *reel-land.
1837J. Kirkbride Northern Angler 3 With regard to the reel and *reel-line I need say nothing. 1867Routledge's Handbk. Fishing 12 Reel Lines are mostly made of silk and horse⁓hair. 1885Cummins Fishing Tackle Catal. 50 The best reel lines will soon rot if wound wet on the reel and left in that condition.
14..Nominale in Wr.-Wülcker 686/37 Hic citaciarius, a *relmaker. 1776Adam Smith W. N. i. x. ii. I. 150 Artificers subservient to them, wheel-makers, reel-makers, &c.
1884Blakelee Industr. Cycl. 451 The *Reel Measure. A reel for measuring land is made as follows.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1905/2 *Reel oven, a baker's oven in which the bread-pans are swung on the horizontal arms of a rotating reel.
1893Outing (U.S.) XXII. 122/2 Let the *reel-plate..be on the extreme end of the butt.
1890W. J. Gordon Foundry 198 Printing from continuous paper is known as ‘web-printing’, ‘roll-printing’, or ‘*reel-printing’.
1876Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 260 This ‘*reel’ protector..was adopted for a considerable time in both the needle and Morse instruments.
1851H. Melville Moby Dick III. xxxix. 226 The towering resistance of the log caused the old *reelman to stagger strangely. 1928Daily Express 8 Oct. 2/1 Hundreds of children..filed from the..Cinema..while the staff tackled a fire in the reel-room behind the gallery.
1883Century Mag. July 378/1 Adjusting a light, German-silver click reel..to the *reel-seat at the extreme butt of the rod.
1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 224 The crank-shaft is 8 inches in diameter, the *reel-shaft 10 inches.
1976Offshore Platforms & Pipelining 143/2 Santa Fe expects to launch its new *reel ship in 1977.
1653Public Gen. Acts 183 All yarns called Worstead-yarns shall be..reeled on a Reel of a full yard about, every *Reel-staff containing Forty thrids.
1889Cent. Dict., *Reel-stand. 1961World's Press News 6 Jan. 7 (Advt.), A..Rotary Newspaper Press. The machine will be arranged with..six 3-arm magazine reelstands. 1969E. H. Pinto Treen 320 The silk on the spool of the cocoon winder was then transferred to the lead-weighted reel stand.
1891Textile Industries 12 Dec. 61/2 The end of the frame..carries two standards—the back one supporting the *reel swift.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1114 Announcing to the *reel-tenter that a measured length of silk has been wound upon her reel.
1964A. Wykes Gambling iii. 71 But another method, called ‘*reel timing’, was not easy to track down... First, the player had to determine the exact number of seconds that each reel spun before coming to rest after the handle was pulled. Secondly, he had to memorize the sequence of all 60 symbols on the three reels... He had to be able to count..a certain number of seconds between the insertion of the coin and the pulling of the lever.
1866Chambers' Encycl., *Reel-winding machine, a beautiful contrivance, now used by the manufacturers of sewing-thread.
▪ II. reel, n.2|riːl|
Also 6 Sc. reill.
[f. reel v.1; but sense 3 may have some other origin.]
1. A whirl or whirling movement; an act of reeling; a roll or stagger. Also fig.
1572Satir. Poems Reform. xxxi. 93 Fortoun, with a Reill, Hes wrocht thame ane vnabill charr,..With turnin of hir Quheill. c1585Montgomerie Misc. Poems iii. 29 Quhen with a quhisk sho quhirlis about hir quheill, Rude is that rattill running with a reill. 1642Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §3 Those unstable judgements..cannot consist in the narrow point or centre of justice without a reele or stagger to the circumference. 1679Alsop Melius Inq. ii. v. 295 They ran from Superstition to Prophaneness; the common reel of those who, to avoid one extreme, run into the opposite. 1851Hawthorne Ho. Sev. Gables xvi, To steady herself from the reel and vibration which affected her more immediate sphere. 1878Browning Poets Croisic clvii, The drunken reel Of vice and folly round him.
†b. pl. Revels, revelry. Obs. rare.
1602Shakes. Ham. i. iv. 9 The king doth wake to night and takes his rouse, Keeps wassels and the swaggering vpspring reeles. 1606― Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 100 Drinke thou: encrease the Reeles.
†2. Sc. A rapid careless delivery. Obs. rare—1.
1573Satir. Poems Reform. xlii. 536 Sic Preichouris..That thinkis thame selfis dischargit weill, Quhen they haue run ouir with ane reill Thair sairles Sermone.
3. Sc. A noise, tumult, disturbance; a crash, peal.
The vb. reel to rattle, etc., is also found in mod. Sc.
1573Satir. Poems Reform. xli. 101 He said thair suld not mis ane reill That suld the cheifest walkin vp. 1724Ramsay Vision iii, To rare with rackless reil. 1813Picken Poems II. 135 He pou'd at the bell, an it gae sic a reel. 1871Waddell Ps. xxix. 7 marg., Atween bleezes o' light comes a reel o' thunner.
▪ III. reel, n.3|riːl|
Also 6 reill.
[Perh. the same word as prec. Gaelic righil, ruithil, etc., commonly given as the source, is prob. from Lowland Sc.]
1. a. A lively dance, chiefly associated with Scotland, usually danced by two couples facing each other, and describing a series of figures of eight. † Also reel-dance (in quot. fig.).
Virginia reel, an American country-dance supposed to be derived from the English Sir Roger de Coverley: see Virginia 1 d.
a1585Montgomerie Flyting w. Polwart 511 Litill tent to their time the toone leit them take, Bot ay rammeist red⁓wood, and raveld in their reeles. 1591Newes fr. Scot. (Roxb.) B j b, They..tooke handes..and daunced this reill or short daunce. 1702R. Currie in Coll. Dying Testim. (1806) 61 Though He seem to linger, yet He is upon His journey coming, and there will be a reel-dance ere long. 1745in R. Forbes Lyon in Mourning (Scott. Hist. Soc. Ser.) (1895) I. 208 He..took his share in several dances, such as minuets, Highland reels (the first reel the Prince called for was, ‘This is not mine ain house’). 1788J. O'Keefe (title) The Highland reel. 1790Burns Tam o' Shanter 117 Hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and reels, Put life and mettle in their heels. 1806T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. (ed. 3) II. 207 The jolly duchess..became the patroness of reels, a lively species of dancing. 1814[see foursome a. 2]. 1818B. Dun Nine Quadrilles Pref., There are two kinds of music to which the Scotch reel is danced, viz. the reel properly so called, and the strathspey. 1827Praed Poems (1865) II. 214, I danced one day an Irish reel. 1840Lytton Money iii. v. 85 Do you remember her dancing the Scotch reel with Captain Macnaughten? 1843[see eightsome a. or adv.]. 1864Lowell Lincoln Pr. Wks. 1890 V. 198 There were..persons who seemed to think this as simple a thing to do as to lead off a Virginia reel. 1913Times 3 June 11/3 The old Scotch reel is rarely danced today, as the young folk prefer eight-somes as more ‘romping’. 1950Oxf. Jun. Encycl. IX. 278/2 The chief dances performed at the [Highland] Games are the Sword Dance, the Foursome Reel, the Reel of Tulloch, the Highland Fling, and the Seann Triubhas. 1955Highland Dancing ii. 61 During the Highland Reel the distance between the points may be reduced. 1964W. G. Raffe Dict. Dance 414/2 Reel o' Tulloch... This and other Scottish Reels in 4/4 time, come from ancient periods. Ibid., This Reel is a variant of the Foursome Reel. 1971Country Life 23 Dec. 1790/1 Get up and take a whirl in an eightsome reel. 1974Encycl. Brit. Micropædia VIII. 468/3 Popular reels include the Irish Sixteenhand Reel and the Scottish reels Maury's Wedding and the Duke of Perth.
b. transf. (perh. sometimes associated with n.2).
1768Ross Helenore 69 (Jam.) In mony a reel they scamper'd here and there, Whiles on the yerd, and whiles up in the air. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. ii. xi, About, about, in reel and rout The death-fires danced at night. 1850Kingsley Alt. Locke xi, I used to lie..and watch the flies dancing reels between me and the ceiling.
2. The music or (U.S. dial.) a song for such a dance (see quot. 1811).
1591Newes fr. Scot. (Roxb.) B j b, Geilles Duncane did goe before them, playing this reill or daunce upon a small Trumpe. 1811Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 3), Reel, a lively Scotch dance, generally written in common-time of four crotchets in a bar, but sometimes in jig time of six quavers. 1818[see sense 1 above]. 1883Grove Dict. Mus. III. 92/1 The Irish reel is played much faster than the Scotch. 1964Amer. Folk Music Occasional i. 61 From such a man you will hear ballads, breakdowns, reels. 1968J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 320 In the form of the reel, strathspey, or pibroch it has a primitive echo which is evocative for all its convention and sophistication.
▪ IV. reel, v.1|riːl|
Forms: 5 relyn, 5–6 rele, reyll, 6 reyle, Sc. reill, 6–7 reele, 7– reel.
[Of uncertain origin: possibly related to reel n.1 Early examples are chiefly northern or Sc.]
1. intr. To whirl round or about; to go with a whirling motion; † to wheel suddenly.
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 147 [The ship] reled on round vpon þe roȝe yþes. Ibid. 270 He glydes in by þe giles..Relande in by a rop, a rode þat hym þoȝt. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 12671 Hedes reled aboute ouer-al, As men playe at the fote-bal. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxvii. 75 The sowtaris horss scart with the rattill, And round about cowd reill. 1594Drayton Idea 710 Thus the World doth, and evermore shall Reele. 1813Scott Trierm. iii. xxi, Zarah's sands in pillars reeling Join the measure that we tread. 1820Shelley Witch Atl. xxviii, She saw the constellations reel and dance Like fireflies.
†b. Of a drinking cup: To go round, circulate. Obs.—1 (Cf. reel-pot.)
c1460Towneley Myst. xii. 270, 1 pastor. I drynk for my parte. 2 pastor. Abyde, lett [the] cop reyll.
2. Of the eyes: To whirl, with dizziness or excitement.
1513Douglas æneis iii. Prol. 35 Few knawis all thir coistis sa fer hence; To pike them wp perchance ȝour eene suld reill. 1737Ramsay Sc. Prov. (1750) 121 Ye never saw green cheese but your e'en reel'd. 1768[see reeling ppl. a. 1]. 1835Lytton Rienzi i. iv, His eyes began to wink and reel beneath the glare of the tossing torches.
b. Of the mind, head, etc.: To be in a whirl, to be or become giddy or confused.
a1796Burns O leave novels 6 Your fine Tom Jones and Grandisons, They make your youthful fancies reel. 1810Scott Lady of L. v. xvi, For, while the dagger gleam'd on high, Reel'd soul and sense, reel'd brain and eye. 1855Tennyson Maud ii. iv. iv, When all my spirit reels At the shouts. 1881Besant & Rice Chapl. of Fleet I. 261 My head reels, doctor.
c. To have, or seem to have, a rapid quivering motion.
1847Tennyson Princ. vii. 336 All the rich to-come Reels, as the golden Autumn woodland reels Athwart the smoke of burning weeds. 1856Bryant Damsel of Peru iv, The silent hills and forest-tops seem reeling in the heat.
†3. To rush, dash, or prance about in a rude or violent manner; to run riot, behave in a reckless or riotous fashion. Obs.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2246 Here ar no renkes vs to rydde, rele as vus likez. 1375Barbour Bruce xii. 513 Sum of the horss, that stekit wer, Ruschit and relit richt [roydly]. 14..Sir Beues (MS. M.) 510 There myght men se mekyll on⁓hele Whan that Beues be-gan to rele. c1460Towneley Myst. xiii. 274 Now were tyme for to reyll. a1510Douglas K. Hart i. 227 So Bewte with hir wangarde gane to reill, The greitest of thair ost scho can ourryd. 1513― æneis iv. vi. 42 Sic vise as quhen thir nunis of Bacchus Ruschis and relis our bankis, brayis, and bus. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xviii. 39 Lat neuer þai Ruffians within ȝour rowmis reill. 1715Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. ii. xvii, His wife did reel, And rampage in her choler. 1791J. Learmont Poems 23 Wi' rude Mars To reel, and get themselves made lame.
transf.1570Satir. Poems Reform. xvii. 34 Quhat vice rais vp, reuolue into ȝour minds; Quhat sin, quhat shame in hir last dayis did reil.
4. Of an army, rank, line of battle, etc.: To waver, become unsteady, give way.
1375Barbour Bruce viii. 328 The king..saw thame reland to and fra. a1572Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 212 Whill that everie man laubouris to draw from the north, whense the danger appeired, thei begyne to reyll. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. i. 79 Great belly'd women..would shake the prease, And make 'em reele before 'em. 1648Milton Ps. lxxxiii. 51 Giddy and restless let them reel Like stubble from the wind. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles vi. xxix, De Argentine..Renews the ranks where they have reel'd, And still makes good the line.
b. Of persons (or animals): To sway or stagger as the result of a blow or encounter. Often with back, backward.
a1400Morte Arth. 2795 The renke relys abowte and rusches to þe erthe. c1460Towneley Myst. xii. 122, I shall the hytt on thi pate, lo, shall thou reyll. 1470–85Malory Arthur vii. xvii, Eyther gafe other suche buffets..that they relyd bacward. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon viii. 196 He made bothe the man and the horse to rele sore. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 49 When they saw the Almayne rele and staggar, then they let fall the rayle betwene them. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. v. 6 So sore a buff to him it lent, That made him reele. 16..Robin Hood & Tinker xxxi. in Child Ballads III. 142/2 The Tinker laid him on so fast That he made Robin reel. 1809Malkin Gil Blas vi. i. ⁋15 [He] reeled two steps backward, just as if some one had given him a blow in the bread-basket. 1855Tennyson Charge Light Brigade 35 Cossack and Russian Reel'd from the sabre-stroke Shatter'd and sunder'd.
fig.a1862Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. ii. 69 He reeled under the double shock; a slow fever wasted his strength. 1887Bowen Virg. æneid vi. 857 When Rome reels with the shock of the wild invaders alarm.
†c. To waver (in an argument). Obs.—1
1529More Suppl. Soulys Wks. 331/2 Yet said he therwith one thyng or twayn, that could not stand therwith: and therby may ye see that he began to reele.
5. Of persons (or animals): To sway unsteadily from side to side, as if about to fall; to swing about with the whole body in trying to walk or stand, as the result of intoxication, faintness, etc.
c1477Caxton Jason 8 The dronkardes that went relyng on all sydes in the feldes. 1530Palsgr. 684/1 It is a goodly syght to se you rele on this facyon lyke a dronken man. 1582Batman Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. vii. lxix. 115 b, It maketh the hound to reyle and stagger, as hee were dronken. 1596Drayton Legends iv. 276 With faintness she began to reele. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 75 A common souldier..rising from among the dead bodies, and reeling with his wounds. 1687T. Brown Saints in Uproar Wks. 1730 I. 80 How many gallons have you guzzled for your morning's draught, that you reel and stagger so? 1728Pope Dunc. iii. 337 Till Isis' Elders reel, their pupils' sport. 1813Scott Trierm. ii. x, Reeling from the desperate race, He stood, exhausted, still. 1843Lytton Last Bar. i. iv, Now reeling,—now falling, he still dragged on his limbs. 1865Kingsley Herew. ii, He saw the huge carcass bend, reel, roll over slowly to one side, dead.
b. transf. of parts of the body, etc.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 20 Whiles yet his feeble feet for faintnesse reeld. 1818Shelley Rev. Islam x. viii, His footsteps reel On the fresh blood. 1858Kingsley Poems 62 Knees which reel as marches quicken.
c. fig. in various applications.
1654Whitlock Zootomia 162 They are..swelled with pride,..and even reeling with Sedition. 1726Bolingbroke Study Hist. viii. Wks. 1754 II. 448 [France] went on indeed, but she staggered and reeled under the burden of the war. 1858O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. vii. 61 We are hustled into maturity reeling with our passions and imaginations.
6. Of things: To shake, rock, or swing violently; to totter, tremble; † to become unsteady.
1495[see reeling vbl. n.1]. a1591H. Smith Six Serm. (1594) 89 The water vnder him tossing, the ship about him reeling. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. i. 121, I will make my very house reele to night. 1648Markham Housew. Gard. iii. x, Stakes rot and reel, Rain and Weather eat your hives and covers. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 335 The vessel reeling quite down on one side..was immediately filled with water. c1720Ship in a Storm x, The faithless Flood forsook her Keel,..Stun'd she forgot awhile to reel. 1791Cowper Iliad i. 651 All around The Sov'reign's..head his curls Ambrosial shook, and the huge mountain reeled. 1814Cary Dante, Inf. xxxi. 97 By violent earth⁓quake rock'd Ne'er shook a tower, so reeling to its base, As Ephialtes. 1864Tennyson Voyage 15 So quick the run, We felt the good ship shake and reel. 1869Phillips Vesuv. ii. 12 Making the whole country reel and totter.
transf.1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxiii, An earthquake reel'd unheededly away! None felt stern Nature rocking at his feet.
b. fig. of kingdoms or institutions. † Also const. from (a state or condition).
fig.1577–87Holinshed Chron. I. 140/1 The kingdome of Britaine began now to reele from their owne estate, and leane to an alteration. 1628Ford Lover's Mel. i. ii, When commonwealths totter and reel from that nobility and ancient virtue which renowns the great. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 271 To stand fast As long as Monarchy should last; But when the state should hap to reel [etc.]. 1868Stanley Westm. Abb. iv. 341 When Church and State were reeling to their foundations.
c. To fall or roll hurriedly. rare.
1593Drayton Eclog. viii. 36 From whose high top the high soon'st downward reele. 1818Byron Juan i. cxxiv, The showering grapes In Bacchanal profusion reel to earth, Purple and gushing.
7. To walk with the body swinging violently from side to side; to make one's way in a swaying or staggering manner, esp. under the effects of intoxication. Also in fig. context.
1607Middleton Five Gallants iii. iii, Take him when he reels from a tavern late. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 291 Drunkards reeling along the shore. 1726–31Waldron Descr. Isle of Man (1865) 22 Being unable to reel any further, he lay down at the door. 1761Churchill Night Poems 1767 I. 74 Reel in a drunkard, and reel out a saint. 1819Shelley Peter Bell 3rd iii. vii, Those patriots..Who gorge, before they reel to bed. 1821― Prometh. Unb. ii. iv. 22 Each one reels Under the load towards the pit of death. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 633 Permitting them to sleep on watch, to reel drunk about the streets.
transf.1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iii. 3 Darknesse like a drunkard reeles From forth daies path. c1600― Sonn. vii, When from high-most pich..Like feeble age he reeleth from the day. a1704T. Brown Praise Drunkenness Wks. 1730 I. 32 Epicurus whose drunken atoms reel'd into order.
fig.1650Fuller Pisgah iv. vii. 138 Shunning open profaneness, they reeled into spirituall pride. a1661― Worthies (1840) III. 432 This age, wherein so many have reeled into damnable errors. a1679W. Outram Serm. (1682) 53 Christianity..now is reel'd to the other extreme.
b. To move, fly, or dash, rapidly and unsteadily.
1727–46Thomson Summer 183 All th' extinguish'd stars, would loosening reel Wide from their spheres. 1860Holland Miss Gilbert iv. 73 He..watched the little gig as it reeled off toward the mill at the highest speed. 1878Browning Poets Croisic ii, Redly up and out and off they reeled Like disconcerted imps, those thousand sparks.
8. trans. To cause to roll, whirl, or stagger; to impel violently. Now rare.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 304 Runischly his rede yȝen he reled aboute. 1513Douglas æneis ii. vii. 130 With the preis we war relet of that steid. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 35 Sisyphus an huge round stone did reele Against an hill. 1595Barnfield Cynthia v, In his hand was placed Fortunes wheele: The which he often turn'd, and oft did reele. 1613J. Davies Muse's Teares B 2 b, Our Hopes, Which now this Blast doth reele, and backward beare! 1800Moore Anacreon ii. 12 Our feet shall catch the elastic bound, And reel us through the dance's round.
b. refl. To throw (oneself) with a stagger.
1890Clark Russell Ocean Trag. I. ix. 191 He..swung, or rather reeled, himself into [a chair].
9. To reel through or along (a street). rare—1.
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iv. 20 To sit And keepe the turne of Tipling with a Slaue, To reele the streets at noone.
▪ V. reel, v.2|riːl|
Forms: 4 rely, reole, 4–5 rele, (5 relyn), 6 reele, Sc. reill, 7– reel.
[f. reel n.1]
1. a. trans. To wind (thread, silk, etc.) on a reel. Also absol., to perform, or be engaged in, this kind of work.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 81 Boþe to karde and to kembe..To rube and to rely [v.rr. rele, reole]. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 586/31 Girgillo [to rele]. c1440Promp. Parv. 429/1 Relyn, wythe a reele, alabriso. c1462Wright's Chaste Wife 349 Thowe schalt rubbe, rele, and spynne, And þou wolt eny mete wynne. 1548Thomas Ital. Dict. (1567), Innaspare, to reele, as they reele silke or thread. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 694 Ilk ane in hand ane Reill..To reill thair hankis so small of reid gold wyir. 1629Massinger Picture iv. ii, You should reel well What he spins, if you give your mind to it. Ibid. v. i, The other too reels well For his time. 1641R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) I. 334 Proclamations were read dischargeing to sell any yarne but reeled in such a fashion. 1732Acc. Workhouses 138 That fit persons be appointed to reel the work. 1789Gentl. Mag. Suppl. 1200/2 He invented a machine to spin and reel Cotton at one operation. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 387 If the yarn has to be packed for the market, it is reeled upon a frame. 1886Mag. of Art Dec. 46/1 The silk used was..the same as that reeled at the present time by the Indians, Chinese, and Japanese.
b. Angling. To wind (the line) on the reel. Also with up, and absol.
1854L. Lloyd Scandin. Adv. I. 194 The line..is reeled around the two pins in the handle. 1873G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere ii. 10 We reel up and seek the shelter of the wood. 1883Century Mag. July 381/2 Then he reeled slowly, keeping the minnow near the surface. 1884Braithwaite Salmonidæ Westmld. v. 21 The angler reels up his line as quickly as possible.
c. To fill (a spool) with thread.
1774Keith Farmer's Ha' vii, The auld gudewife the pirney reels Wi' tenty hand.
2. to reel off.
a. To take off by reeling.
1530Palsgr. 684/1 Rele this skayne of the blades and than come dyne. 1756Gentl. Mag. XXVI. 138 The sixth book describes the manner of reeling off the silk from the pod. 1789Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) II. 164, I reeled off every single thread. 1880C. M. Mason Forty Shires 94 The silk is called raw after it has been reeled off the cocoons. 1884Blakelee Industr. Cycl. 123 Twine wound upon this may be reeled off at pleasure.
b. transf. To rattle off (a story, song, etc.) without pause or effort. Also, to cover (a distance, etc.) rapidly; to accomplish or perform without pause or effort. Also const. out (rare).
1837Marryat Dog-fiend ix, Well reeled off, Billy. 1870‘Mark Twain’ in Galaxy Dec. 883/2 The hands [of my watch] would straightway begin to spin round and round... She would reel off the next twenty-four hours in six or seven minutes. 1872― Roughing It iv. 46 We reeled off ten or twelve miles. 1885Pall Mall Budget 19 June 31/1 General Butler..can reel off nautical stories by the yard. 1890McCarthy French Revol. I. 118 He reeled off a world of insipid verses. 1928Granta 30 Nov. 172/2 Milton just reeled out bits about Christmas when he was up here. 1961Trains Illustr. Nov. 685/2 The 11 miles between posts 137 and 148 were reeled off at an average of 93.8 m.p.h. 1972J. Mosedale Football iv. 50 The Rams became the most exciting team in football, reeling off six straight victories. 19760–10 Cricket Scene (Austral.) 33/2 In a fine performance in which he reeled off 35.5 overs, he captured 5–148 in the Third Test in Australia at Adelaide in 1974.
3. a. To draw out, as with a reel; to draw through (something), or cause to move, by means of a reel. Also, to draw in, as with a reel.
1855Browning Childe Roland xxiv, That harrow fit to reel Men's bodies out like silk. 1868Joynson Metals 105 Wire is reeled through the zinc, into which it is forced to dip by a fork or other contrivance. 1891Textile Industries 12 Dec. 69 Reel the stuff well in the solution. 1942Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 57 A large passenger aircraft was struck while its trailing aerial was still reeled out. 1975Offshore Aug. 121/1 The test pipeline was reeled from the Chickasaw into water depths of approximately 1,000 to 1,040 feet. 1978Sci. Amer. Feb. 158/1 To launch a kite hold it about 20 degrees forward of the vertical and in approximately the correct flying attitude, release it as a gust of wind passes and slowly reel out line. Ibid. 158/2 To bring the kite down you probably will reel in the kite line. 1979Amat. Photographer 10 Jan. 73/2 It's also dangerous, and illegal, to have permanent power points in a bathroom, so you must reel in an extension cable each time so you can use your enlarger, safelights, etc.
b. Angling. To draw in (a fish, etc.) by reeling up the line. Also in fig. context, and intr. (const. out) to become uncoiled from a reel. So ˈreel-out n.
1881Confess. Frivolous Girl 181 Once hook him and you are all right... You can reel him in then at your pleasure. 1883Century Mag. July 379/2 The Professor..soon reeled the bass within a few feet. 1894Outing (U.S.) XXIV. 228/2 The minnow is reeled nearly to the tip of the rod. 1975Daily Tel. 11 Sept. 3/7 Three cases of seat belts reeling out with no load being taken by the belt until all the webbing was off the reel, and four cases of excessive reel-out.
4. intr. To make a noise like that of a reel when in motion.
1747[see reeling vbl. n.2 2]. 1899Longm. Mag. Dec. 154 The grasshopper warblers which were reeling from many a ‘tangled watercourse’ a fortnight ago are now silent.
▪ VI. reel, v.3|riːl|
[f. reel n.3]
intr. and trans. To dance a reel.
1768Ross Helenore i. 21 The summer cauls were dancing here an' there, An' clouds of midges reeling in the air. 1790Burns Tam o' Shanter 147 The dancers quick and quicker flew; They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit. 1833Marryat P. Simple xxxv, Troubridge opened the ball.., making them reel ‘Tom Collins’, whether or no. 1843Nicholson Hist. & Tradit. Tales 241 Loud laughed Old Nick and danced and reeled. |