throstle

Meaning

Noun

• A song thrush.
• A machine for spinning wool, cotton, etc., from the rove, consisting of a set of drawing rollers with bobbins and flyers, and differing from the mule in having the twisting apparatus stationary and the processes continuous.

Origin

• From Middle English throstle, from Old English þrostle, from Proto-Germanic *þrustlō, possibly altered from or a diminutive of *þurstaz. Cognate with German Drossel, Old Saxon throsla, Old High German droscala.
• The spinning machine is named for the songbird, from the sound made when it is working.