| 释义 |
▪ I. spin, n.1|spɪn|
[f. the vb.]
1. a. An act or spell of spinning; also techn., capacity for being twisted or spun; the product resulting from spinning.
1853Househ. Words VII. 131/1 The apparatus for testing what is termed the ‘spin’ of the silk;—its capability of being twisted round with great velocity without..being damaged. 1884W. S. B. McLaren Spinning (ed. 2) 62 As it is to be spun into worsted,..the longer the fibres remain the better will be the spin.
b. The product of a machine which rotates and twists toffee.
1913D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers i. 4 She..went to get Annie a spin of toffee.
2. a. An act or spell of revolving or whirling round; a circular or rotatory movement; spec. a spell of spin-drying.
1831Moore Summer Fête Poet. Wks. (Oxf. ed.) 275 Teetotums we've for patriots got,..A glorious spin, and then— a tumble. 1864G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) I. 194 The circular motion imparted to the new matter by the original twist or spin which the sun gave to the mass. 1966D. V. Davis New Domestic Encycl. (ed. 2) iii. 127 Each spin should be restricted to about 15 seconds. 1969K. J. Mills Washing Wisdom vi. 97 If a spin has been selected, then this will happen for the required time.
b. A head-over-heels movement; a somersault.
1842S. Lover Handy Andy i, Surprising was the spin the young equestrians took over the ears of the horse.
c. Cricket. A twisting motion given to the ball when bowled or thrown. Also, the ability to impart such a motion to the ball; spin-bowling.
Also in combs. off-spin, over-spin, side-spin, underspin.
1851J. Pycroft Cricket Field ix. 174 The more spin you give the ball, the better the delivery; because then the ball will twist, rise quickly, or cut variously, the instant it touches the ground. 1855F. Lillywhite's Guide to Cricketers 81 A bowler with a great spin. 1861Bell's Life 10 Nov. 6/3 But however good their trundling, pitch or pace, or break or spin, Still the monarch of all bowlers, to my mind was Alfred Mynn. 1862Pycroft Cricket Tutor 34 When there is no spin upon the ball, a batsman will risk a kind of guess-hit. 1884Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 25 Not able to get quite the same amount of spin on the ball. 1951Sport 27 Apr.–3 May 12/1 Wardle's left-arm slows and the rapid advance of Eddie Leadbetter, the 23-year-old leg-break and googly bowler, offer spin enough to check the best opponents. 1955Times 5 July 4/1 Silk was probably right in thinking that his seamers would get more out of it than his spinners, but what he did not know was that Oxford were likely to lose their composure against spin. 1958Times 19 July 3/5 Even if we are to be short of spin in Australia our pace attack will be as formidable as it was four years ago. 1977World of Cricket Monthly June 32/3 It was left to the spin of Holford to separate the dangerous pair.
d. Aeronaut. A steep descent in which an aircraft describes a helix at an angle of attack greater than the stalling angle; flat spin: see s.v. flat a. 15.
1915Aeroplane 10 Nov. 578/2 Several times their aeroplane got into a ‘spin’. 1930Nayler & Ower Aviation To-Day 324 To come out of the spin the pilot pushes his stick forward so as to unstall the wings. 1939[see spiral a.1 1 b]. 1953Aeroplane 30 Jan. 140/2 Apart from spins that resulted in fatal accidents, there were also quite a number before 1914 which had less drastic consequences. 1977New Yorker 27 June 62/1 The Liberator..went into a spin, dived toward the earth.
e. The continued revolving of the clutch of a motor after being disengaged.
1919B. H. Davies Motor Driving 129 The disc A is pressed against the disc B, which damps out the ‘spin’. 1948A. W. Judge Mod. Motor Engineer (ed. 4) II. 305 If the car is fitted with a clutch stop, or brake, this will effectively obviate clutch spin on disengagement. 1977J. H. Haynes Ford Fiesta Owners Workshop Man. v. 95/2 Clutch spin is a condition that occurs when there is an obstruction in the clutch.
f. colloq. The act of playing a gramophone record, esp. on the air; a session of playing gramophone records.
1977Broadcast 28 Nov. 10/1 Records not receiving maxiplay but likely to get at least one daytime spin. 1977R.A.F. News 11–24 May 20/6 Disc jockey SAC ‘Duke’ Bedford set off on a record non-stop spin of 72½ hours.
3. a. The act of causing something to spin.
1840P. Parley's Ann. I. 85 Peter..changed tops with Thorp; and after having a few spins, ran home. 1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports 254/1 It is obvious that for this purpose a long rod is required to command a greater extent of water, and a more numerous series of spins.
b. The act of tossing a coin in the air as a means of deciding something.
1882Daily Tel. 27 May, The Oxonians being fortunate in the spin of the coin.
4. a. A spell of continuous movement by way of exercise or pastime; a fairly rapid ride or run of some duration, now freq. in a motor vehicle or aircraft.
1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rur. Sports 336/2 Shorter spins of three-quarters of a mile..will be adopted as often as the trainer sees fit. 1884Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 15 Sept., The bicyclist now..takes long spins from one end of the State to the other. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 319 He..was in much the same bodily..condition as if he had taken a ten-mile spin with a greatcoat on. 1907G. Meredith Let. 7 Sept. (1970) III. 1606 To vary my growls..I hire a motor and have a spin of 100 miles, a way of ensuring appetite and prolonged sleep. 1942A. Christie Body in Library xi. 102 He took his car and went for a spin down to the front. 1960M. Spark Ballad of Peckham Rye vii. 164 ‘I called for you last Saturday,’ Mr. Druce said. ‘I thought you would care for a spin.’ 1976Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 12 Nov. 14/5 A 15-year-old boy..took his father's car, and went in it for a spin around Basingstoke. 1978G. Vidal Kalki iii. 59 ‘We'll go for a spin,’ said Kalki... First we had to get through to the Katmandu airport. That took an hour... It was five o'clock before we were able to take off.
b. A spell of quick rowing or sailing.
1875Scudamore Day Dreams 14 [They] would willingly have hired a boat for the purpose of having a spin with the Frenchmen. 1895Times (weekly ed.) 30 Aug. 683/1 The Valkyrie went out for another spin on Wednesday.
c. Austral. and N.Z. slang. A (good, bad, etc.) experience or piece of luck.
1919in W. H. Downing Digger Dialects 47. 1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo xix. 188 Mollie had had a crook spin when the children were little. 1934T. Wood Cobbers xi. 134 People generally said they were having a bad spin. 1948D. Ballantyne Cunninghams 132 What a miserable bloody spin he was having. 1960N. Hilliard Maori Girl iv. iii. 261 Give her a decent spin now and she'll turn out all right. 1964H. P. Tritton Time means Tucker 113 When I remarked that he'd had a tough spin he grinned, ‘Served me right for being such a blanky fool.’
5. Rapid or lively movement.
1891Meredith One of our Conq. xix, Like the men who escape colds by wrapping in comforters instead of trusting to the spin of the blood.
6. Math. The local rotation of a continuous medium, as expressed by the curl of the local velocity; vorticity.
1878W. K. Clifford Elements of Dynamic I. ii. ii. 123 The velocity-system due to a definite angular velocity about a definite axis is spoken of as the rotation-velocity. To specify it completely we must assign its magnitude and the position of the axis... A rotation-velocity, so denoted, shall be called a spin. 1878W. K. Clifford Dynamic 133 Hence every twist may be resolved into two spins, the axis of one of which is any arbitrary straight line. 1937S. L. Green Hydro- & Aero-Dynamics ii. 14 There is an essential difference between motions with and without spin, i.e. between rotational and irrotational motion. 1958Science 4 Apr. 731/3 The arrow, which points along the axis of spin and has length equal to the angular speed, is the ‘vorticity’... The case of no spin is appropriate to some applications, particularly for waves on water and for aeronautics.
7. Physics. An intrinsic property of certain elementary particles which is a form of angular momentum and is usu. pictured as a rotation (it is distinct from angular momentum possessed by virtue of occupation of an orbital); a vector representing this in the case of a particular particle.
1926Uhlenbeck & Goudsmit in Nature 20 Feb. 264/1 To start with, we shall consider the effect of the spin on the manifold of stationary states which corresponds to motion of an electron round a nucleus. 1938R. W. Lawson tr. Hevesy & Paneth's Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) viii. 83 The electrons exhibit a rotation proper to themselves and generally referred to as ‘spin’, and this confers upon them the property of small magnets. 1943Ann. Reg. 1942 ii. 365 Mesons are of two types—the more usual with the longer life and zero spin and another of shorter life having a spin 1h. 1955Sci. News Let. 19 Feb. 117/3 They have passed proton beams through two hydrogen filled chambers to get atoms whose spins are all in the same direction. 1966C. R. Tottle Sci. Engin. Materials i. 13 Beryllium..can have two electrons in the 2s state, since they can have opposite spin. 1974P. W. Atkins Quanta 223/1 The spin is the intrinsic, characteristic, and irremovable angular momentum of a particle. A convenient fiction is to suppose that the spin is the angular momentum arising from the rotation of a body about its own axis.
8. Austral. slang. [Perhaps a different word.] Five pounds in money.
1941Coast to Coast 1941 225 ‘How'd you go at the two-up?’ I asked. ‘Aw, I got a spin,’ said Tom. 1949L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 15 ‘Not five bob. A spin,’ said the carpenter, fishing a five pound note out. 1962S. Gore Down Golden Mile 261 Backed Sweet Friday for a spin... But it never run a drum.
9. attrib. and Comb., as spin axis; (sense 7) spin angular momentum, spin multiplicity (= multiplicity 1 e (a)), spin quantum number, spin state; spin-allowed a. Physics, consistent with the selection rules describing changes in spin quantum number; spin bowler Cricket, a slow bowler who imparts spin to the ball on delivery; also spin-bowling; spin-dye v. trans. Textiles, to dye (textiles) by a process which incorporates the colouring matter before the filament is formed; so spin-dyed ppl. a., spin-dyeing vbl. n.; spin echo Physics, a radio-frequency signal induced in a coil surrounding a system of (esp. nuclear) spins in a static magnetic field in the plane of the coil following the application of two radio-frequency pulses to the coil; freq. attrib.; spin flip Physics, the quantum jump of a particle from one spin state to another; spin glass, a dilute solid solution of a magnetic substance in a non-magnetic host; spin-labelling Chem., the technique of labelling (label v. 2) with stable paramagnetic radicals which can be studied using electron spin resonance techniques; so spin-label v. trans.; also as n., a radical or compound used in spin-labelling; spin-labelled a.; spin-lattice Physics, used attrib. with reference to the interaction between a crystal lattice and a particle possessing spin; spin-orbit Physics, used attrib. with reference to the interaction between spin and orbital motion, esp. of an electron in an atom; spin polarization Physics = polarization 2; so spin-polarized a.; spin-spin Physics, used attrib. with reference to the interaction between two or more particles possessing spin; spin-stabilized a. Astr., (of a rocket, spacecraft, etc.) stabilized in a desired orientation by being made to rotate about an axis; so spin-stabilization; ˈspin tunnel Aeronaut. = spinning tunnel s.v. spinning vbl. n. 8 c; spin vector Math. and Physics, a vector representing rotation; spec. one which by its magnitude and direction represents the intrinsic angular momentum of a particle; spin wave Physics, a cooperative oscillation in the alignment of electron spins, propagated through a magnetic material in the form of a wave.
1972DePuy & Chapman Molec. Reactions & Photochem. iii. 34 Electronic transitions between states of the same multiplicity, i.e., singlet-singlet and triplet-triplet transitions, are *spin-allowed. 1973Spin-allowed [see phosphorescence].
1928Proc. R. Soc. A. CXVII. 610 Goudsmit and Uhleenbeck have introduced the idea of an electron with a *spin angular momentum of half a quantum and a magnetic moment of one Bohr magneton. 1977Dædalus Summer 27 Some quantum numbers, such as electric charge and spin angular momentum, refer to physical, measurable attributes of the particle.
1922Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics I. 421/2 A true circular disc, mounted eccentrically on a *spin-axis normal to its plane, illustrates the state of bad static balance. 1926Nature 20 Feb. 264/1 This couple will cause a slow precession of the spin axis. 1977Dædalus Fall 48 The spin axis of this satellite could be oriented at will by command from the Earth.
1920D. J. Knight in P. F. Warner Cricket 42 Let any player who does not believe in this dictum go and face such *spin bowlers as Barnes, Hearne, [etc.]..on a sticky wicket. 1955Times 14 July 3/5 One has doubts as to just how much the spin bowlers approve of these pitches. 1976Dexter & Makins Testkill 90 A book he was planning on the history of the great spin bowlers.
1955Times 5 July 4/6 They are clearly a useful team, well equipped with stroke-players but perhaps a little short of *spin bowling. 1963Times 7 June 4/3 Mushtaq Mohammad, Pakistan's Test batsman, amply confirmed his ability against spin bowling. 1975Cricketer May 20/1 Critics of the English cricket scene often bemoan the lack of spin bowling.
1948Jrnl. Soc. Dyers & Colourists LXIV. 291/2 Dyes suitable for *spin⁓dyeing..are those of nitrodiarylamine, azo, and anthraquinone types. 1961F. D. Lewis Chem. & Technol. Rayon Manufacture xii. 148 Lack of space precludes more than a cursory consideration here of the spindyeing of viscose rayon yarns. Ibid. 149 It would not seem possible to spindye thread with a single organic pigment. 1963A. J. Hall Textile Sci. iii. 132 Generally, by this use of pigments instead of dyes it is possible to produce coloured fibres and yarns having the maximum fastness properties; they are often designated ‘spin-dyed’ yarns.
1949Bull. Amer. Physical Soc. XXIV. vii. 13/2 *Spin Echoes. E. L. Hahn, University of Illinois. 1963Times 8 May 2/7 (Advt.), Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship..for work on relaxation time measurements by spin-echo techniques. 1979Nature 22 Nov. 367/1 Experiments using the weakly inelastic scattering of neutrons have also become feasible; they give similar information [about the motion of polymer chains in a liquid], but for higher frequencies: from 1011s-1 with ‘back scattering spectrometers’ down to 2 × 108s-1 with the most recent ‘spin echo’ method.
1955Physical Rev. C. 1505/1 The special form of the dispersion relations depends on the high-frequency behavior of the *spin-flip amplitude. 1971New Scientist 1 Apr. 6/2 Light..from a Q-switched carbon-dioxide laser is the ‘pumping’ source for the spin-flip laser. 1975Sci. Amer. May 89/2 Units of time and distance are specified in terms of the frequency of the hydrogen spin-flip at 1,420 megahertz.
1970P. W. Anderson in Materials Res. Bull. V. 549 (heading) Localisation theory and the Cu-Mn problem: *spin glasses. 1976New Scientist 2 Dec. 533/1 The essential feature of the spin glass transition is that below some critical temperature, the magnetic atoms are locked or frozen into random orientations (hence the analogy with a glass). 1979McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 247/2 The transition from the paramagnetic to spin glass phase occurs as the material is cooled through a certain temperature point.
1965T. J. Stone et al. in Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. LIV. 1010 (heading) *Spin-labeled biomolecules. Ibid. 1785 Stone..obtained a measure of the rotational mobility of the region of the macromolecule to which the spin labels were bonded. Ibid. 1791 It appears likely that the spin-labeling method will be useful in studies of the interaction of haptens, coenzymes, inhibitors, and substrates with proteins and other macromolecules. 1969New Scientist 30 Oct. 224/2 The use of spin-labelled substrate analogues shows clearly..the subtle changes in protein conformation that occur during the enzymic process. 1974Nature 12 Apr. (verso rear cover), The most commonly used spin labels are molecules which contain a nitroxide moiety. 1975D. H. Burrin in Williams & Wilson Biologist's Guide to Princ. & Techniques Pract. Biochem. v. 161 By spin labelling glycero-phosphatides with a stable nitroxide free radical, the lateral diffusion of the labelled molecules in a membrane..may be studied. 1976Tetrahedron Lett. June 2180 Spin labelling with carbonyl compounds was carried out for 1–2 days in pH 7·5 aqueous phosphate buffer.
1938Physica V. 502 The period of the alternating field must be of the order of magnitude of the relaxation time τ of the *spin-lattice equilibrium. 1978P. W. Atkins Physical Chem. xix. 629 The motion of nuclei can affect the shapes and widths of lines in n.m.r. just as it does in e.s.r., and the spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times can be discussed in precisely the same way.
1956Nature 18 Feb. 306/1 The ‘electronegativity’ of all the cations is not that of their ground states, for several of them are in states of lower *spin-multiplicity. 1977I. M. Campbell Energy & Atmosphere viii. 219 Radiative transitions between states of the same spin multiplicity are easy in the absence of contravention of other selection rules.
1932Bacher & Goudsmit Atomic Energy States 14 The interaction between the two electrons is smaller than the *spin-orbit interaction of the 3p electron. 1963G. Troup Masers & Lasers (ed. 2) 185 Because of spin-orbit coupling..the ‘spin’ S in the Hamiltonian is not necessarily equal to the true spin of the ion, but is rather an ‘effective spin’ related to the multiplicity of levels actually found. 1978W. J. Kaufmann Exploration of Solar System xi. 396 This means that Mercury rotates three times about its axis while circling the sun twice. This phenomenon is known as spin-orbit coupling.
1966Proc. Physical Soc. LXXXIX. 587 The fundamental *spin polarization (P) is typically represented by P(x) = P0ε{caret}cos Qx where Q is the spin-density wave vector and ε̂ is a unit vector along the direction of polarization. 1970I. E. McCarthy Nuclear Reactions i. i. 7 They [sc. the proton and the neutron] may be identified separately by measuring the spin polarization of the beams. 1977New Scientist 24 Feb. 455/2 The process is called ‘spin polarisation by optical pumping’.
1968M. S. Livingston Particle Physics vii. 138 If parity is not conserved in other weak interactions, it could lead to an asymmetry in the direction of emission of β rays from *spin-polarized radioactive nuclei. 1980Nature 17 Jan. 248/1 One way of producing spin-polarised electrons is to take a storage ring, fill it with electrons or positrons, and leave for an hour or so.
1930Pauling & Goudsmit Struct. Line Spectra iv. 53 It seems to be sufficient to give all electrons the same rotation, so that they have the angular momentum sh/2π, with s, the *spin quantum number, always 1/2. 1964J. W. Linnett Electronic Struct. Molecules i. 9 Since each spatial orbital is defined by the three quantum numbers n, l and m, this is equivalent to saying that each orbital can accommodate two electrons, and these only if they have different spin quantum numbers.
1934H. E. White Introd. Atomic Spectra xii. 186 (heading) *Spin-spin-, or ss-coupling. 1936Proc. R. Soc. A. CLV. 641 This degeneracy can only be removed by an external magnetic field or by the spin-spin interaction between the ions. 1978Spin-spin [see spin-lattice above].
1961Planetary & Space Sci. IV. 262/2 *Spin stabilization turned out to be one of the more difficult design problems encountered in the program. 1976M. H. Kaplan Mod. Spacecraft Dynamics & Control iv. 124 The use of spin stabilization in this orbit..was seen as a means of achieving the..mission at an early date.
1956Spaceflight I. 19/1 The satellite..was intended to be *spin-stabilized so that one hemisphere..always faced the Sun. 1976M. H. Kaplan Mod. Spacecraft Dynamics & Control iv. 124 The concept of a spin-stabilized, 24-hour satellite was first proposed by the Hughes Aircraft Company in the fall of 1959.
1956Physical Rev. CIV. 488/1 If the two *spin states are equally abundant, this indication implies that the average neutron width is not the same in each state.
1947A. Pope Wind-Tunnel Testing i. 11 The vertical tunnels for testing parachutes differ from the *spin tunnels in that they require an even velocity front instead of the dish-shaped front required for the spin tunnel. 1959F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Dict. 158/1 The air speed in the spin tunnel may be kept equal to the rate of descent of a tested model, causing the model, while spinning, to remain at a given height relative to the observer.
1882Minchin Unipl. Kinemat. 260, θ is what we have called the expansion, while ω is the *spin-vector at P. 1899C. J. Joly in W. R. Hamilton Elem. Quaternions (ed. 2) I. iii. ii. 492 This vector γ has been called the spin-vector of the function ϕ. 1948Physical Rev. LXXIII. 415/1 The integral Lorentz transformations are represented by exactly those spin transformations which, together with their inverse, map integral spinvectors into integral spinvectors. 1981Sci. Amer. Apr. 47/3 A particle with one-half quantum of intrinsic spin can have only two possible orientations; in the simplest case, where the particle is in motion, the spin vector can point either in the same direction the particle is moving or in the opposite direction.
1936Proc. R. Soc. A. CLV. 644 For long waves one can carry out the transition to a continuum in the same way as Bloch did in his theory of ‘*spin waves’. 1953Rev. Mod. Physics XXV. 235/2 The rf magnetic field excites spin waves with wave numbers in the range 1 to 105 cm-1. 1973Sci. Amer. Jan. 88/3 Waves produced by oscillations of magnetic moment in ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials (spin waves) generate quasiparticles called magnons.
Add:[2.] g. fig. A bias or slant on information, intended to create a favourable impression when it is presented to the public; an interpretation or viewpoint. Freq. in phr. to put a positive (negative, etc.) spin on. colloq. (chiefly U.S. Pol.).
1978Guardian Weekly 22 Jan. 18/1 The CIA can be an excellent source [of information], though, like every other, its offerings must be weighed for factuality and spin. 1979Washington Post 15 Mar. a17/2 American spokesman Jody Powell gave a press briefing and put a negative spin on the talks. 1980N.Y. Times 7 Sept. i. 35/1 President Carter's chief economist..tried to put a positive spin on what has generally been perceived as a dismal economic picture. 1984USA Today 6 Apr. 3d/1 New England Monthly is resolutely Yankee in its subject matter, with a spin that suggests it is for and by that generation we've been hearing so much about lately. 1989Independent 1 June 9 None of the ‘collies’ believes Mr Baker. In the American political vernacular, he is trying to put a ‘spin’ on the Bush triumph.
[9.] spin doctor Pol. colloq. (orig. U.S.), a political press agent or publicist employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalists.
1984N.Y. Times 21 Oct. iv. 22/1 They won't be just press agents trying to impart a favorable spin to a routine release. They'll be the *Spin Doctors, senior advisers to the candidates. 1988Globe & Mail (Toronto) 24 Oct. a1/3 Some of the spin doctors (whose nickname is believed to come from baseball, where pitchers put spin on a ball to control its direction) will be using cellular phones to call in policy specialists. 1990Maclean's Mag. 2 Apr. 11/3 We were treated to the insights of Elliott Abrams,..the administration's most versatile spin doctor on Nicaraguan affairs.
hence spin-doctoring n.
1986Washington Post 7 Aug. a1/2 Today the competing camps engaged in a game of persuasion and perception: ‘*spin doctoring’, as the craft of explaining to reporters what really happened is known in political circles. 1990Sunday Tel. 17 June 21/8 For the first time in living memory, Tory Central Office handled an election campaign successfully, and it was not all spin-doctoring.
▸ Brit. Police slang and Prison slang. A search of a person or (esp.) a place for stolen goods, illegal substances, etc. Cf. spin v.
1970T. Clayton Men in Prison Gloss. 251 Spin, search by officers for contraband. 1971S. Houghton Current Prison Slang (MS) Suppl. 3 Spin,..search of cell or person. 1987Sunday Tel. 22 Nov. (Colour Suppl.) 28/2 DCI..asks for two spins... Spins? ‘Searching addresses’, he says. 1990Viz Apr.–May 15/5 (cartoon) I've gotta leave this place clean as a whistle. The first thing the pigs'll do is give this drum a spin. 1994N. Parker Parkhurst Tales ix. 100 Once evening association had started at six o'clock, there would be no more spins for the day.
▸ spinmeister n. Polit. colloq. a spin doctor, esp. an accomplished or politically powerful one; an expert at presenting information or events to the media in a favourable light; cf. spin doctor n. at Additions.
1986Newsweek 27 Oct. 23/2 The *spinmeisters can't take all the credit for the burst of patriotic solidarity. 1999Newsday 7 Mar. b8/2 Meanwhile, mainstream reporters continued to report the political spinmeisters' mantra that the American people want this matter behind us, offering their ubiquitous opinion polls in lieu of intellectual analysis.
▪ II. spin, n.2 Anglo-Indian.|spɪn|
[Abbreviation of spinster.]
An unmarried lady.
1842C. Ridley Let. Mar. in Cecilia (1958) vii. 90 Mrs. Dixon, a good lady..who was sitting in a very tidy, very hot room with two old spins as companions. 1872‘Aliph Cheem’ (Yeldham) Lays of Ind (1876) 193 I'm going to rhyme about A most unhappy spin. Ibid. 200 O spins. ! be warned ere yet too late. 1888B. M. Croker Diana Barrington xxiii, There were all the Gurrumpore spins in their beautiful new frocks!
▪ III. † spin, n.3 Obs.—1
In 6 spynne.
[a. G. spinne, spünne, related to spean n.]
A teat.
1525Andrew tr. Brunswyke's Surg. iii. Bij/2 Vuula, y⊇ whiche is a lytell deme hangynge in y⊇ throte lyke the spynne.
▪ IV. spin, v.|spɪn|
Pa. tense spun, span. Pa. pple. spun. Forms: inf. 1 spinnan, 3–7 spinne, 4–6 spynne (4 -en, 5 -yn), 5–6 spyn (7 spyne), 6– spin. pa. tense 1 spann, 4–6 spanne (4–5 spane), 5– span; 1 pl. spunnon, -un, 4 pl., 6 sponne, 5 pl. spon, 6 spunne, 6– spun. pa. pple. 1 ᵹespunnen, 3 i-, 4, 6 y-sponne, 7 arch. y-spunne; 4–5 sponnen, 4–6 sponne, 5–6 spon(e, 6 spoon(ne, 5–7 spunne (6 spune), 6– spun. Also 5 spynned, 6 (9 dial.) spinned.
[Common Teut.: OE. spinnan, = OFris. *spinna (WFris. spinne, EFris. spinne, spin, NFris. spen, span), MDu. and Du., MLG. and LG. spinnen, OHG. spinnan (MHG. and G. spinnen), ON. and Icel., Norw. and Sw. spinna (Da. spinde), Goth. spinnan; the stem is perhaps related to that of span v.2 and to Balto-Slavic forms (with initial sp- or p-) of similar meaning (Schade Altd. Wbch. 852/2).]
I. *
1. a. intr. To draw out and twist the fibres of some suitable material, such as wool or flax, so as to form a continuous thread; to be engaged in or to follow this occupation.
c725Corpus Gloss. R 148 Reuerant [read neuerant], spunnun. c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. vi. 28 Sceawiᵹaþ lilia londes hu hie waexaþ, ne winnaþ, ne spinnaþ. c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 310 Nim þone hweorfan þe wif mid spinnað. c1290St. Clement 156 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 327 Nouþe mine hondene me beoth bi-nome, þat Ine may sevwy ne spinne. 1390Gower Conf. II. 170 Hire moder..Bad that sche scholde..lerne forto weve and spinne, And duelle at hom and kepe hire inne. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 707/99, I wolde wite, whon þat Eue gon spinne, Bi whom þat ȝoure gentrie stod? 1467in Eng. Gilds (1870) 383 To dye, carde, or spynne, weve, or cloth-walke. 1530Palsgr. 728 And you wyll speake with my mother she spynneth nowe at home. 1560Pilkington Expos. Aggeus (1562) 217 When Adam dalve, and Eve span, Who was than a gentle⁓man? c1655Milton Sonn. xx. 8 The Lillie and Rose, that neither sow'd nor spun. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 388 The entrances are crouded with old women spinning. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 422 The short interval when splicing the yarn, and preparing to set on to spin. 1882‘Ouida’ Maremma I. 37 In bad weather she sat at home and span.
Phr.1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 342 b, We saye in Englyshe to teache our dame to spynne.
fig.1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 293 If you go to spin finer than they have been accustomed to, [they] cry out against it as an inconceivable absurdity. 1857Emerson Poems 171 The storm-wind wove, the torrent span, Where they were bid the rivers ran. 1876Spurgeon Commenting 122 This author..is good but verbose. Some authors toil not, but they spin; Macculloch both toils and spins.
b. Of insects: To produce glutinous threads from the body by means of special organs.
c1511[see 3 d]. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Silk, Before they begin to Spin, they always apply..these..Nipples against the Body whence the Web is begun. 1815Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1818) I. 408 You will find that precisely the same takes place in the minutest species that spins. 1833Tennyson Two Voices 180 For every worm..Draws different threads, and..Spins, toiling out his own cocoon. 1841T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. 297 When about to spin, the larva..allows a minute drop of the glutinous secretion to exude.
c. To make a noise like that of spinning.
1851Meredith Love in the Valley v, Lone on the fir⁓branch, his rattle-note unvaried,..spins the brown eve-jar.
2. a. trans. To draw out (wool, flax, man-made fibre, or other material) and convert into threads either by the hand or by machinery.
c1000ælfric Gram. xv. 97 Hiᵹ spinnað wulle. 13..K. Alis. 6806 (W.), They haveth no wolle to spynne. 1399Gower Praise Peace 299 Men sein the wolle, whanne it is wel sponne, Doth that the cloth is strong and profitable. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 79 She..came afore hym with a rocke under a gerdelle spynning black wolle. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §146 Flaxe..tawed, hecheled, spon. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 39 The Towe is seuered from the Flaxe, and appoynted for his vse, so are they seuerally spon vpon the Distaffe. 1688Holme Armoury iii. 286/2 Woll is principally, nay only spun at it, and at none of the other sorts of Wheels. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 78 As for the two friends, they spun cotton from morning till night. 1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 222 The flax formerly spun to twelve pounds a bundle, is with hot water spun to six. 1874Green Short Hist. vii. §5. 386 The farmers' wives began everywhere to spin their wool from their own sheeps' backs. 1899Jrnl. Soc. Arts 8 Dec. 62/2 The solution of gelatine must be coloured to the required shade before being spun. 1921T. Woodhouse tr. Foltzer's Artif. Silk 23 This solution..is conducted or spun through special capillary tubes. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia VII. 258/2 Acetate is dry spun by extruding acetone solutions of cellulose acetate into hot air.
fig.c1315Shoreham iii. 150 For wel to conne, and nauȝt to don, Nys naþer rawe ne y-sponne. a1420[see distaff 1 b]. c1440Cast. Persev. 2618 in Macro Plays, For no man can be war be oþer tyl he hathe al ful spunne. 1525–46[see distaff 1 b]. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Glimpse vi, If I have more to spinne, The wheel shall go, so that thy stay be short.
b. = To spin off (see 5 a). Also with up.
a1553Udall Royster D. i. iii, If thys distaffe were spoonne Margerie Mumblecrust..will drinke no water. 1593G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 163, I must spin-vp my taske.
c. To convert (or intr., to admit of being converted) into thread, etc., by spinning. Also transf.
1669Stillingfl. Serm. iv. 151 For plain truths lose much..and their strength is impaired when they are spun into too fine a thread. a1676Hale Prim. Orig. Man. (1677) 306 To spin some prepared Matter into vital and sentient Semina for those insect Animals. 1780A. Young Tour Irel. I. 166 The 8 lb. [of flax] will spin into..20 hanks or 5 spangles fit for a ten hundred cloth. 1842R. Oastler Fleet Papers II. 26 It will not spin into good yarn, nor weave into wearable cloths. 1883Haldane Workshop Rec. Ser. ii. 320 The number of strands of gut spun into a cord varies with the thickness of catgut required. 1899Jrnl. Soc. Arts 8 Dec. 63/2 If too much water is present the collodion will not be tenacious and therefore will not spin. 1963A. J. Hall Textile Sci. ii. 50 If a suitable proportion of opaque white titanium dioxide pigment is added to the viscose solution just before it is spun into filaments, these can be produced with a lower lustre or even be matt.
refl.1867A. J. Wilson Vashti xvii, Your mind..exhausts and consumes itself, like fabled Arachne, spinning itself into filmy nothings.
d. (See quot.)
1802James Milit. Dict. s.v., To spin hay, is to twist it up in ropes, very hard, for an expedition... An expert horse⁓man can spin five days forage into a very narrow compass.
e. To deposit (liquid sugar) on cakes, etc., in a thread-like form.
1883Haldane Worksh. Rec. Ser. ii. 166 Sugar may be spun over the inside of the basket.
3. a. To form or fabricate (a thread, etc.) by the process of drawing out (and twisting) some suitable material; to prepare the material for (a fabric or garment) by this process.
c1290St. Edmund 167 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 436 Heo [sc. a hair-coat] nas i-sponne ne i-weoue, ake i-broide [of] strengus longue. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 130 My wyf..þat wollene cloþ made, Spak to þe spinsters for to spinne hit softe. 1382Wyclif Judg. xvi. 9 The threed of a top of flexe, that is sponnen with spotel. 1513Douglas æneid x. xiii. 141 His coyte of goldin thredis brycht Quhilk his moder hym span. 1562Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 163 Which showth in deede That a fowle spinner may spin a fayre threede. 1607Shakes. Cor. i. iii. 93 All the yearne she spun in Vlisses absence. 1634Milton Comus 83 First I must put off These my skie robes spun out of Iris Wooff. 1735Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Voy. iv. 25 They..Sew them together with Thread which they spin out of the Bark. 1805Act 45 Geo. III, c. 30 Sched., Every pound..of gold thread, gold lace, or gold fringe, made of plate wire spun upon silk. 1832H. Martineau Life in Wilds iv. 51 The lace-makers and jewellers and glass-cutters, and even those who spin glass for the amusement of the wealthy. 1874H. H. Cole Catal. Ind. Art S. Kens. Mus. 137 The filigree..is like a fine web spun over the surface of the bottle. 1891Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry 30 Apr. 359/1 This invention relates to the process and apparatus for spinning artificial silk from nitro-cellulose. 1973Materials & Technol. VI. iv. 292 Dry spinning. This method is used to spin filaments from syrups which can be prepared by dissolving the fibre-forming materials in a suitable solvent.
transf.1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 186 When you spin a silver web, or a desert, always take particular care your fire is clear. Ibid., You must not spin it before a kitchen fire.
b. In figurative contexts.
to spin street-thread, etc.: see street n. to spin a yarn (to tell a story): see yarn n.
13..K. Alis. 7251 (W.), He hath y-sponne a threde, That is y-come of eovel rede. c1450Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 231 Let theym [wear] suche clothis as they spane. a1568A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxx. 7 Than is his weid of vertew spune. 1586Kyd Verses Praise & Joy 31 My thred is cut, and yet it is not spunne; And now I liue, and now my life is done. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. iv. 57 The Fates, when they this happy web have spun. 1757Gray Bard 98 Weave we the woof. The thread is spun. 1820Shelley M. Gisborne 154 How we spun A shroud of talk to hide us from the sun Of this familiar life. 1852Thackeray Esmond ii. xiii, [A grave] so fresh made that the spring had scarce had time to spin a coverlet for it.
†c. In the ironical phrase to spin a fair thread.
1554Latimer in Strype Mem. (1721) III. 93 If you tarry with them, you have sponne a fayre Threde. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 56 In beyng your owne foe, you spin a fayre threede. 1656Hobbes Liberty, Necessity, & Chance (1841) 31 If it be so, he hath spun a fair thread, to make all this stir. [1818Scott Rob Roy xxiii, Spinners! ye'll spin and wind yoursell a bonny pirn.]
d. transf. Of insects. (Cf. 1 b.)
c15111st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) p. xxxv/1 This wormes..goo in too that fyre, and there they spynne lyke the wormes yat the sylke spynneth. 1660tr. Amyraldus' Treat. conc. Relig. ii. vi. 234 Insects spin silk for his service. 1700C. Nesse Antid. Armin. (1827) 117 If man (spider-like) could spin a thread out of his own bowels. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Silk, The Silk-Spider makes a Silk, every whit as beautiful..as the Silk-worm: It spins it out of the Anus. 1815Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1818) I. 406 All spiders do not spin webs. Ibid., The thread spun by spiders. 1861P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1860, 265 The animal [Crenella] spins for itself a silky nest.
fig.1841De Quincey Style iv. in Blackw. Mag. Feb. 215/2 Those accidents of time and place which obliged Greece to spin most of her speculations, like a spider, out of her own bowels. 1850Tennyson In Mem. cxxiv, I found Him not..thro' the questions men may try, The petty cobwebs we have spun.
4. fig.
a. Of the Fates or other powers: To devise or appoint (one's destiny or fortune).
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 734 O fatal sustren, which, er any clooth Me shapen was, my destene me sponne. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas viii. xxv, The parchas susterne spon so hys fate. 1606Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. i. Tropheis 932 On David's head, God doth not spin good hap. 1649G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. V, ccxxiii, To Spin his Fate To an ignobler End, then one soe Bold Had merited. 1726Pope Odyss. xx. 250 May fate..spin thy future with a whiter clue! 1840Penny Cycl. XVII. 242/2 The Fates are usually spoken of by the Greek and Roman poets as spinning the destinies of men.
b. To evolve, produce, contrive, or devise, in a manner suggestive of spinning.
c1555Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 227 This interpretation is finely spinned..out of the lawyer's fantastical head. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Praise i, Lord, I will..speak thy praise... My busie heart shall spin it all my dayes. 1664Cotton Scarron. 56 Should I begin my story spinning, From the first end to th' last beginning. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Sat. ii. i. 4 My Lines are weak, unsinew'd, others say—A Man might spin a thousand such a Day. 1791–1823D'Israeli Cur. Lit. (1866) 509 Many secret agents..were spinning their dark intrigues. 1850Robertson Serm. Ser. ii. ii. (1864) 24 A system of wild fancies spun out of the brain. 1870Max Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 60, I cannot help suspecting that language has been at work spinning mythology.
c. To draw out, prolong. (Cf. 6.)
1629J. Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 214 Which being no small detriment to the Romans, did spinne the Warre to a great length. 1713Swift Cadenus & Vanessa Wks. 1755 III. ii. 7 For sixteen years the cause was spun, And then stood, where it first begun. 1789Jefferson Writ. (1859) III. 58 If the fear of the former alternative prevails they will spin the matter into negotiation. 1792F. Burney Diary V. vii. 323 The little novel..would not have gone on improving, as the latter part begins already to seem spun.
** With adverbs.
5. spin off:
a. To finish or clear off (a distaff, etc.) by spinning. (Cf. 2 b.)
1601Holland Pliny II. 549 One would imagine he saw every woman making hast to spin off her distaffe, striving avie who shall have done her taske first. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. i. iii. 110 It hangs like flax on a distaffe: & I hope to see a huswife take thee between her legs, & spin it off. 1690Temple Ess., Poet. Wks. 1720 I. 249 To spin off this Thread, which is already grown too long. 1735–1894 [see rock n.2 2].
b. To throw or cast off (a composition) in a continuous or easy manner.
1895Daily News 24 Apr. 7/4 He..used to spin off novels in the intervals between signing piles of papers.
6. spin out:
a. To render lengthy or protracted; to protract, prolong.
Used with a variety of objects, the commonest types of which are illustrated by the separate groups of quotations. Cooper (1565, s.v. Parcæ) has ‘to spynne out the threade of mans lyfe’, and an early example of the literal use occurs s.v. spinner 2 (quot. 1393).
(a)1603in Moryson Itin. (1617) II. 282 Shee was still apt to beleeve that hee..would spin out all things further then were requisite, with delayes and shifts. 1646J. Hall Horæ Vac. 154 Neither is any warre so long spun out. 1670G. H. Hist. Cardinals iii. ii. 282 It was done more to procrastinate, and spin out the Conclave. 1759Robertson Hist. Scot. ii. Wks. 1813 I. 106 Under his management the negociations were spun out to a great length. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 764/1 He spun out the debate till it was too late to conclude upon anything that day. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xxi. iv. VI. 476 Kaunitz..span out the Turk pacification in a wretched manner for years coming. 1885Law Times 30 May 74/1 That arbitration..was spun out for forty⁓four days.
(b)1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 574 Therefore they spin out their liues to the length of the thread. 1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxiv, They would fain spin out the most miserable life to the greatest length. 1734Watts Reliq. Juv. (1789) 130 Thus he spun out his supple soul, and drew A length of life amidst a vicious crew. 1872Punch 19 Oct. 163/1 If I were condemned to execution, I should perhaps be inclined to spin out my time by talking till they took me off by force.
(c)1633Ford Broken H. i. i, You spin out your discourse. 1673Lady's Call. i. v. §75 This section is spun out to a length very unproportionable to the former. 1710Steele Tatler No. 132 ⁋10 Our innocent Conversation, which we spun out till about Ten of the Clock. 1787F. Burney Diary 16 Feb., I..spun out into an hour's discourse what might have been said in three minutes. 1813Prichard Phys. Hist. Man. vii. §4. 357 This sort of argument has been..so spun out by antiquaries of late times.
(d)1644Prynne & Walker Fiennes's Trial 46 In this his defence (to spin out time) he led us in perambulation through all the Works, Forts, Dikes, Rampires [etc.]. 1673S'too him Bayes 129 No body that hop'd to have a reprieve ever spun out time at last as thou hast done. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. lxvi. (1806) V. 45 The French ambassadors spun out the time till the morning of the critical day. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. iv. 439 The distance of Madras would aid the Rajah in spinning out the time till the commencement of the rains.
b. To spend or occupy (time) in inactivity or without effect.
1608–14in Leadam Crt. Requests (Selden) Introd. 96 Counsell..doe..Spyne and Trifle out one or two termes about the exceptions. 1646H. P. Medit. Seige 42 Although I die at twenty, I have lived more then he that hath spunne out a hundred uselesse yeares. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 108 Those People are..lazy, and have no Concern but to spin out the Day. 1789in Nairne Peerage Evid. (1874) 127, I shall endeavour to spin out the remainder of my days as comfortably as my situation can permit.
c. To evolve or devise by mental effort; to express at length.
1652N. Culverwel Lt. Nature xi. (1654) 97 Mans reason is fain to spend time..in spinning out a Syllogisme. 1663Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 97, I have no more time left to spin out in words the kindnes which I acknowledge from you and beare to you. 1736Gentl. Mag. VI. 466/2 How many hundred Declarations has Caleb D'Anvers spun out from a Thread of this Clue. 1828Scott Aunt Marg. Mirror Introd., The sort of waking dreams which my imagination spins out. 1864Thackeray D. Duval viii. (1869) 107 He could spin out sentences by the yard. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 426 To be spinning out a long soliloquy or address, as if I wanted to show off.
d. To draw out, extend, prolong, in length or duration.
1655W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. verse 14. ii. (1669) 13/2 He who is spun out at length, but not thicken'd suitable to his height. 1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxxix, The Paracelsian promise of spinning out the life of man to a length equal with the clew of time. 1717Prior Alma iii. 539 Would she, in friendship, peace, and plenty Spin out our years to four times twenty. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xx. i. VI. 5 Prince Henri and Fouquet have spun themselves out into a long chain of posts.
e. To bring to an end; to consume or exhaust. Chiefly refl. or in pass.
1718Entertainer No. 35. 236 To beat the wind, and spider-like, to spin out ones self for those who will not thank him for it. 1728Ramsay Fables, Fox turned Preacher 51 His glass spun out, he ceast. 1809Malkin Gil Blas xi. vii. ⁋3 My brain is fairly spun out.
f. To cause to last out; to use sparingly.
1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 328 We might have spun out what we had by good husbandry. 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. I. xvi. 195 We must spin the money out..until something comes in.
g. intr. To run out; to extend; to last out.
1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 258 The time spinning out, [they] demanded longer time. 1758J. Burton Monast. Ebor. Pref. p. xi, This preface has spun out to a greater length than I expected. 1891C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 51 In my..state of ignorance with regard to making money spin out.
II. *
7. intr. To shoot or spring up; to grow or rise rapidly. rare.
13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 35 So semly a sede moȝt fayly not, Þat spryngande spycez vp ne sponne. 1641Milton Animadv. Wks. 1851 III. 229 Their unquestionable charity, which..like a working flame, had spun up to such a height of pure desire.
8. a. Of blood, etc.: To issue in a rapid stream; to gush or spurt. Freq. with out.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 8942 Depe in-to his fflesch it ran, That the blod fast out span. c1560Ingelend Disobed. Child A iv, Shoulde I be content then thyther to runne, Where the bloude from my breeche thus shoulde spunne. 1573L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 289 Alexander the great being wounded, and his blood spinning out. 1627Drayton Agincourt 131 The blood out of their Helmets span. 1684R. Waller Nat. Exper. 155 That thin Spirit..which in a small Thread spins out of the same Peel when it is squeezed. 1720Pope Iliad xxi. 184 One raz'd Achilles' hand; the spouting blood Spun forth. 1881R. T. Cooke Somebody's Neighbors 84 The sharp streams of milk spun and foamed into the pail below.
b. trans. To send forth in a stream. rare—1.
1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 279 Spatious pastures, and flockes of cattell spinning forth milke abundantly.
9. a. To move rapidly; to run quickly; now esp. to ride or drive at a rapid and even rate.
a1400–50Alexander 3033 He spynnes [v.r. spedes] him out a grete space fra hes peris all. c1430Chev. Assigne 331 An edder spronge out of his shelde & in his body spynethe. c1450Cast. Persev. 1400 With spete of spere to þee I spynne. 1556J. Heywood Spider & Fly lxiii. 45 Streight from that place they are speedilie spinning, To an other host. 1581A. Hall Iliad v. 79 The which the heardman when he sees, for feare begins to spin.
1842Tennyson Sir Galahad v, The tempest crackles on the leads, And, ringing, spins from brand and mail. 1850Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. iii. (1859) 36 The boat spun after him with singular swiftness. 1883F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius 200 There was a cab at the door,..and in a minute more he was spinning along Fifth Avenue.
b. To pass or be spent quickly.
1850Thackeray Pendennis x, The young one is making the money spin. 1868Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 362, I hope that the time will soon begin to spin away.
c. trans. To cause to pass away; to carry away or convey rapidly.
1696Phillips, Amusement, any idle Employment to spin away time. 1877Mrs. Oliphant Young Musgrave I. xii. 205 Lovely horses who could spin her away over the broad country. 1880M. E. Braddon Just as I am vi, I shall soon spin him over to Highclere.
10. a. To revolve or gyrate; to whirl round.
1667Milton P.L. viii. 164 The Earth..With inoffensive pace that spinning sleeps On her soft Axle. 1700Dryden Ovid's Met. viii. 112 Quick, and more quick he spins in giddy Gires, Then falls. 1784Cowper Task iii. 491 Thrice must the voluble and restless earth Spin round upon her axle, ere the warmth..attain the surface. 1825Scott Talism. xx, Dance, or we will scourge thee with our bowstrings, till thou spin as never top did under schoo'boy's lash. 1846Greener Sci. Gunnery 352 Do not require a bullet to spin twice on its axis, if once is sufficient. 1888J. Inglis Tent Life in Tigerland 260 Sometimes we spinned round and round like a teetotum.
fig.1805Wordsw. Prelude ii. 47 We ran a boisterous course; the year span round With giddy motion. 1893Times 15 June 9/6 The mind accustomed to spin upon the poles of Greek and pure mathematics.
b. Of the brain or head: To whirl; to be giddy or dazed.
1819Byron Juan ii. cx, And as he gazed, his dizzy brain spun fast, And down he sunk. 1886Baring-Gould Crt. Royal III. xlvi. 93 My head spins. I cannot think. 1894Stevenson Lett. (1899) II. 327 My head is simply spinning with a multitude of affairs.
c. Cricket. Of a ball: to travel through the air with spin (spin n.1 2 c).
1851J. Pycroft Cricket Field ix. 174 Clarke is not conscious of any attempt to make his ball spin or twist: a certain action has become habitual to him. 1970N. Cardus Full Score 120 Mailey would tell me how much he revelled in the ‘feel’ of a ball spinning from his fingers. 1980Cricketer International Apr. 83/3 Hollies..came up to bowl the next ball. It neither spun nor twisted in the air but drifted up and then down in a graceful parabola.
d. Aeronaut. Of an aircraft or its pilot: to perform or undergo a spin (spin n. 2 d).
1914Aeroplane 1 July 17/2 If a ‘scout’ started to spin round its own nose it would never come into control again. 1918J. M. Grider War Birds (1927) 66, I am going up to ten thousand [feet] and shut off and spin down and see what happens. 1931C. D. Barnard Learning to Fly 151 Only a stalled aeroplane will spin—in other words when the machine is no longer airborne. 1952Technical Rep. Aeronaut. Res. Committee 1943 II. 755 The model usually spins more steeply and recovers from the spin more easily than the aeroplane.
e. Of a motor clutch: to continue to revolve after being disengaged.
1918Dyke's Automobile Encycl. (ed. 7) 662/1 When a clutch spins, when thrown out of engagement, it is difficult to shift gears. 1928Motor Man. (ed. 27) 57 The flange..is brought into contact with the stop, which acts as a brake and prevents the cone or plate spinning. 1965D. Kaberry Ford Corsair viii. 53/1 If the clutch is spinning, difficulty will be experienced in engaging gear, particularly from a standstill.
11. a. trans. To cause to turn or revolve rapidly; to twirl or whirl. Fig. phr. to spin one's wheels (U.S. colloq.), to mark time, to do nothing productive.
1612Dekker If it be not Good Wks. 1873 III. 296 Ile turne the wheeles: and spin the howers vp faster. 1830Galt Lawrie T. ii. i. I. 90 There be you spinning your thumbs with a small child that ha'n't got no mother. 1842Browning Soliloquy Sp. Cloister vii, Spin him round and send him flying Off to Hell. 1870Emerson Soc. & Solit. vii. 138 When you spun tops and snapped marbles. 1960Wall St. Jrnl. 15 Mar. 1 ‘We're just sitting here spinning our wheels,’ says a disgruntled Naval aviator in California. 1974Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 19 Apr. 4/1 The Selective Service System has, in fact, done little but spin its wheels for the past 14 months.
b. To cause (a chafer) to fly while secured by a thread passed through its tail.
1801Strutt Sports & Past. iv. iv. 291 note, When a child I was caught by my mother..in the act of spinning a chafer. 1844J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. iii, To spear trout, spin cockchafers, bait cats.
c. With cognate object.
1828Lytton Pelham xl, They just walk a quadrille or spin a waltz.
d. techn. To shape (articles of sheet-metal) by pressure applied during rotation on a lathe.
1853Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) II. 865 ‘Raising’ by means of ‘spinning’ and stamping has to a great extent superseded the older methods of tin plate working. 1884B'ham Daily Post 24 Jan. 3/3 Britannia-metal Spinners.—Wanted a Man, who can Spin and Make Up.
e. Cricket. Of a bowler: to impart spin to (a ball) on delivery; to cause (the ball) to break after pitching.
1904Westm. Gaz. 21 May 3/1 He can spin the ordinary left-hander's break-back. 1920D. J. Knight in P. F. Warner Cricket 49 Rhodes and Woolley..seem to spin the ball in such a way that it gets straight up from the pitch in quite a different manner. 1960[see cut v. 31 a].
f. To make (an aircraft) perform a spin (spin n. 2 d).
1918J. M. Grider War Birds (1927) 87 Then Ortmeyer..spun a Camel into the ground and killed himself. 1928O. Stewart Aerobatics 13 Machines fitted with Handley-Page automatic slots are extremely difficult to spin. 1952Technical Rep. Aeronaut. Res. Committee 1943 II. 766 The aircraft was spun from 28,000 ft., one 2½-turn spin to the left being carried out and two 2½-turn spins to the right.
g. = spin-dry v. Also absol.
1959Which? Aug. 92/1 Tumbler driers are intended to take washing that has either been wrung or spun to a half-dry state. 1966D. V. Davis New Domestic Encycl. (ed. 2) iii. 127 If you spin a minimum-iron fabric while it is hot you are much more likely to press in creases. 1969K. J. Mills Washing Wisdom vi. 98 Hook the outlet pipe over the sink. Spin for 15–20 seconds.
h. To play (a gramophone record).
1965Listener 23 Dec. 1036/3 If he will dust off his old Plum Label HMV 78..and spin it, he will hear Gertrude Lawrence very distinctly saying to Noël Coward: ‘Strange how potent cheap music is!’ 1966T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 v. 140 She sat alone..listening to Mucho's colleague Rabbit Warren spin records.
12. Angling.
a. trans. To cause (a minnow or other bait) to revolve in the water by fastening it on the hook in a particular manner.
1814–24P. Hawker Instructions Yng. Sportsm. 173 Trolling, or spinning a minnow, is the other most general mode of trout fishing. Ibid. 175 A new gut seldom spins the minnow so well as one that is half worn out. 1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports 254/2 In dead water a well mounted minnow or gudgeon may be spun with great effect.
b. intr. To fish with a spinning bait.
1863‘Ouida’ Held in Bondage (1870) 7 De Vigne stopped to have a glance across country as he stood trolling and spinning. 1867F. Francis Angling i. 30 note, When spinning for trout.
c. trans. To fish (a pool, etc.), to rouse up (a fish), by means of a spinning bait.
1886Field 30 Jan. 133/3 He was to be occasionally seen spinning the weir pool and scours below Marsh Lock. 1895Baily's Mag. May 357/2 If he does not ‘spin up’ a fish, he brings his minnow in as short as he can.
13. slang. To reject (a candidate) at an examination; to pluck or plough. Usu. in pass.
1860in Slang Dict. 223. 1865 Pall Mall G. 4 Aug. 9/2 The historical test is, we imagine, the one which will ‘spin’ most applicants. 1897Brit. Weekly 7 Jan. 214/5 ‘How far through did you say he was with his medical course?’ ‘He was spun in the final,’ I answered.
b. intr. To fail in an examination.
1869Pall Mall G. 24 Nov. 3/2 If an ensign passes his regimental, and ‘spins’ in his special examination.
** With adverbs.
14. spin down:
a. trans. Biol. To centrifuge so as to cause the separation of components.
1947Ackerman & Regato Cancer xiv. 817 The fluid is spun down and sectioned. 1965Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. LIV. 400 A unit of blood was drawn into a heparin receiving pack and spun down slowly for 15–20 min. 1978Sci. Amer. Dec. 30/2 If the unbonded cells are then spun down into a mixed-up mass and given fluid containing antibiotics and the right salts, new hydras form in a few days.
b. intr. Astr. Of a rotating body, esp. a star: to rotate more slowly, usu. because of decreasing angular momentum. Also trans.
1967Nature 24 June 1297/2 The boundary layer suction causes a slow internal motion which stretches vortex lines and spins down the solar interior. Ibid. 1299/1 The region itself spins down quickly. 1976Sci. News 30 Oct. 280 This pulsar is spinning down so slowly that when the effects of its motion across the sky on its apparent (to us) spin rate are considered, it may actually be spinning up from the point of view of someone riding along with it. 1979Nature 29 Feb. 602/2 Any loss of radiation from the region will transport vast quantities of angular momentum away from the rotating body. The reaction back on the body itself will cause it to spin down.
15. spin off:
a. trans. To throw off by or as if by centrifugal force in spinning; freq. fig., esp. (a) U.S. Comm., to distribute (stock of a new company) to shareholders of a parent company; to create (a company) in this way; (b) to produce as a by-product, side-effect, or indirect benefit.
1957N.Y. Times 9 June f1/3 Right now, there is considerable speculation that du Pont will ‘spin off’ its G.M. stock—that is, give it to its own stockholders in the form of a dividend. 1959Wall St. Jrnl. 20 May 1/5 A subsidiary set up in early 1950 to rent out space in an engineering firm's new building was spun off in December, 1954. 1964Science 29 May 1113 The Systems Development Corporation (SDC) was ‘spun off’ by RAND in 1956 to help specifically with design and programming for the first computerized air defense system. 1969Physics Bull. June 215/2 If..pulsars are neutron stars,..then these could rotate at up to 103 Hz; they would ‘spin off’ electrons (or plasma) which would be accelerated in the star's magnetic field. 1969Wall St. Jrnl. 3 July 4/2 The publicly owned company then ‘spins off’ those shares to its holders, who, in turn, often sell the shares to other traders. 1972Real Estate Rev. Winter 5/2 A black who has invested his savings in a commercial or residential venture is not permitted..to parlay small investments into big ones by spinning them off through refinancing vehicles. 1972Publishers Weekly 4 Dec. 35/1 From the file, the publisher can now produce updated editions with minimum effort, and can spin off subsidiary products as well. 1974Nature 29 Mar. 459/2 Several papers have already been spun off from discussions and presentations at the CETI conference. 1977Time 10 Jan. 47/3 Tandy Corp. has spun off most of its other businesses into separate companies chaired by Charles Tandy. 1979Daily Tel. 15 Jan. 5/6 ‘Softly, Softly’ was spun off ‘Z Cars’ and no one complained about that.
b. intr. To be thrown or move off by or as if by centrifugal force in spinning; usu. fig.
1969N.Y. Rev. Books 16 Jan. 33/2 (Advt.), More interesting, however, is the way in which the material is organized to allow the class or individuals to spin-off into the study of related problems. 1969Sci. Jrnl. Nov. 74 People have claimed..that space is a great thing because all the technology evolved will ultimately spin-off to the commercial market place. 1971New Scientist 4 Mar. 488/1 These small companies specialising in technologically advanced products have ‘spun off’ largely from powerful local universities. 1971Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 6 Aug. 12/4 This prestige spins off to make Europeans more and more rail conscious.
16. spin out: intr. Of a vehicle: to skid round out of control. N. Amer. slang.
1954Amer. Speech XXIX. 102 Last Sunday some car spun out and hit five parked cars. 1971M. Tak Truck Talk 150 Spin out, to lose traction on a slippery road.
17. spin up: Astr. Of a rotating body, esp. a star: to rotate more quickly because of a gain in angular momentum or a redistribution of matter. Also trans.
1967Nature 24 June 1299/1 If the interior were rotating at the rapid rate suggested by Dicke, the convective envelope would be spun up to this rate in a very short time. 1974Ibid. 29 Nov. 366/1 As the Sun evolves, its rotating core gets smaller while its outer part spins up. 1976[see sense 14 b above]. 1978Nature 16 Feb. 635/1 Before the neutron star starts to accrete and spin up..it spends a comparatively long time being spun down in the weak stellar wind of its companion. 1979Ibid. 11 Jan. 116/1 The neutron star would be spun up in the process.
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18. In combs., as spin-'em-round, a game of chance (see quot. 1859); also dial., a merry-go-round; spin-heat, the rotatory form of heat-energy.
1851Mayhew Lond. Lab. I. 4 The Proprietors of Street Games, as swings,..down the dolly, spin-'em-rounds, prick the garter, thimble-rig, etc. 1859Slang Dict. 98 Spin-em-rounds, a street game consisting of a piece of brass, wood, or iron, balanced on a pin and turned quickly around on a board, when the point, arrow shaped, stops at a number and decides the bet one way or the other. 1899Lockyer in Nature 20 Apr. 585/2 To get concrete images of these effects we spoke of path-heat, spin-heat, and wobble-heat.
Add:[II.] [13.] c. trans. Of a veterinary surgeon: to reject or disqualify (a horse), esp. from a competition. Freq. in pass.
1974T. Fitzgeorge-Parker Vincent O'Brien i. 12 He was twice sold to big English owners, but each deal broke down because the vets ‘spun’ him for his wind. 1985Eventing Oct. 29/2 A further two were spun by the inspection committee,..which put paid to the Italian team's chances. 1987Carriage Driving Spring 12/1 Unsuitable mounts, poor tack, worn shoes and unfit riders..resulted in competitors being ‘spun’ well before the completion of the ride.
▸ trans. Brit. Police slang and Prison slang. To search (a place) for stolen goods, illegal substances, etc.; to search the house or cell of (a person). Originally and freq. in to spin the drum and variants (cf. drum n.1 9e).
1972R. Busby Reasonable Man xix. 177 Did he object to you spinning his drum? 1982J. Barnett Marked for Destruction xiii. 160 We iron him to the bannisters while we spin the drum from top to bottom. 1982P. Inchbald Sweet Short Grass xix. 162 ‘We've spun it.’ Spinning the drum means searching premises. 1993G. F. Newman Law & Order 193 You spun a villain called Harding... We've picked up a whisper that he's supposed to be making one [sc. a complaint]. 1994N. Parker Parkhurst Tales ix. 100 It was only in very unusual circumstances that the screws would spin someone during association time.
▸ intr. Of a cyclist: to ride, esp. at high speed; spec. to pedal very quickly and fluidly.
1978N.Y. Times 24 Apr. c13/1 It's spring..and the cyclists are spinning along—and away. 1981Bicycling May 22/1 Allow yourself 15 to 20 minutes to warm up, spinning in a low gear at 90 rpm or a little more. 1998Cycling & Mountain Biking Today Apr. 2/1 A fixed-wheel fitted track bike for spinning round the vélodrome. 2003Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) (Nexis) 28 June a5 Cyclists spin by on practice runs through the race route, dodging the cars that have sneaked through the barricades. |