Etymograph

English

spindle

Spindle comes from Proto-West Germanic *spinnan ‘to spin’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pénh₁-ne-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pénh₁-ne-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spinnaną2‘to spin’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spinnan3‘to spin’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spinnilu4reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150spinl4
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150spindle4
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spyndel4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1847spindle4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *spinnaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *spinnan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English spindle
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, editorial staff, Improvement in Water Taps, Cister Valves, &c.: “; the top one is acted on by the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pénh₁-ne-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *spinnanąreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spinnanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *spinnan‘to spin’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spinnanWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu‘to spin’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spinniluWiktionary, English spindlereconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150spinlWiktionary, English spindle
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150spindleWiktionary, English spindle
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spyndelWiktionary, English spindle
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1847spindleWiktionary, English spindle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, editorial staff, Improvement in Water Taps, Cister Valves, &c.: “; the top one is acted on by the…”

Formed from spin + -le

Proto-Indo-European *(s)penh₁- ‘to twist’

Proto-Germanic *spinnaną ‘to spin’

Old English spinnan ‘to spin’

Middle English spinnen ‘to spin or convert fibre into yarn’

English spin

The story

The dragonfly sense (noun sense 14) is a calque of Swedish slända (dragonfly/spindle); this word was introduced by New Sweden settlers.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *spinnaną ‘to spin’

spider, span, 1 more

through Proto-West Germanic *spinnan ‘to spin’

spinner, spinster

through Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu

spinel

Today it means

noun A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of a shaft and a circular whorl positioned at either the upper or lower end of the shaft when suspended vertically from the forming thread.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spindle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *spinnaną, Proto-West Germanic *spinnan, Proto-West Germanic *spinnilu. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pénh₁-ne- / spindle

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