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reel

Pronunciation: /ˈɹiːl/

The English word “reel” has 18 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A shaky or unsteady gait.
  2. A lively dance originating in Scotland.
  3. The music of this dance; often called a Scottish (or Scotch) reel.
  4. A kind of spool, turning on an axis, on which yarn, threads, lines, or the like, are wound.
  5. A device consisting of radial arms with horizontal stats, connected with a harvesting machine, for holding the stalks of grain in position to be cut by the knives.
  6. A short compilation of sample film work used as a demonstrative resume in the entertainment industry.
  7. A chronological collection of pictures or short videos published by a user on an app or website and typically only available for a short period.

verb

  1. To wind on a reel.
  2. To spin or revolve repeatedly.
  3. To unwind; to bring or acquire something by spinning or winding something else.
  4. To walk shakily or unsteadily; to stagger; move as if drunk or not in control of oneself.
  5. To back off, step away, or sway backwards unsteadily and suddenly.
  6. To make or cause to reel.
  7. To have a whirling sensation; to be giddy.
  8. To be in shock.
  9. To produce a mechanical insect-like song, as in grass warblers.
  10. To roll.
  11. To bring in or along.

Etymology

From Middle English reel, reele, from Old English rēol, hrēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hrehul, from Proto-Germanic *hrehulaz, *hrahilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *krek- (“to weave, beat”). Cognate with Icelandic ræl, hræll.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.