Definition

Noun: * An early spinning machine with multiple spindles: A historic invention used for spinning cotton or other fibers into thread or yarn. It allowed a single operator to work multiple spindles simultaneously, dramatically increasing productivity compared to the traditional spinning wheel.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The invention of the spinning jenny was a key development in the early Industrial Revolution.
  • James Hargreaves is credited with inventing the spinning jenny around 1764.
  • The museum has a working model of an original spinning jenny.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Agent of Change: The term is often used to symbolize the mechanization of the textile industry and the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
  • The spinning jenny, along with the water frame, transformed textile production from a cottage industry to a factory system.

Variants and Related Words

• Spinning wheel (n): The predecessor to the spinning jenny, a device for spinning thread or yarn with a single spindle, operated by a foot pedal or hand.
• Water frame (n): A later, more powerful spinning machine developed by Richard Arkwright that was driven by water power.
• Spinning mule (n): A subsequent invention by Samuel Crompton that combined features of the spinning jenny and the water frame to produce stronger, finer yarn.

Synonyms

• Spinning machine (n): A general term for any machine used to spin fibers.
• Textile machinery (n): A broader category of machines used in fabric production, which includes the spinning jenny.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• (To be) a cog in the machine: This modern idiom, which emerged from the industrial era, reflects the shift in labor that inventions like the spinning jenny helped create, where workers performed repetitive, specialized tasks.
  • He felt like just a cog in the machine at the large factory.

Noun

1. an early spinning machine with multiple spindles