from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Shuttle \Shut"tle\, n. [Also shittle, OE. schitel, scytyl,
schetyl; cf. OE. schitel a bolt of a door, AS. scyttes; all
from AS. sce['o]tan to shoot; akin to Dan. skyttel, skytte,
shuttle, dial. Sw. skyttel, sk["o]ttel. [root]159. See
{Shoot}, and cf. {Shittle}, {Skittles}.]
1. An instrument used in weaving for passing or shooting the
thread of the woof from one side of the cloth to the other
between the threads of the warp.
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Like shuttles through the loom, so swiftly glide
My feathered hours. --Sandys.
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2. The sliding thread holder in a sewing machine, which
carries the lower thread through a loop of the upper
thread, to make a lock stitch.
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3. A shutter, as for a channel for molten metal. [R.]
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{Shuttle box} (Weaving), a case at the end of a shuttle race,
to receive the shuttle after it has passed the thread of
the warp; also, one of a set of compartments containing
shuttles with different colored threads, which are passed
back and forth in a certain order, according to the
pattern of the cloth woven.
{Shutten race}, a sort of shelf in a loom, beneath the warp,
along which the shuttle passes; a channel or guide along
which the shuttle passes in a sewing machine.
{Shuttle shell} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
marine gastropods of the genus {Volva}, or {Radius},
having a smooth, spindle-shaped shell prolonged into a
channel at each end.
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