Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Coil

Coil

(koil)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Coiled
(koild);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Coiling
.]
[OF.
coillir
, F.
cueillir
, to collect, gather together, L.
coligere
;
col-
+
legere
to gather. See
Legend
, and cf.
Cull
,
Verb.
T.
,
Collect
.]
1.
To wind cylindrically or spirally;
as, to
coil
a rope when not in use; the snake coiled itself before springing
.
2.
To encircle and hold with, or as with, coils.
[Obs. or R.]
T. Edwards.

Coil

,
Verb.
I.
To wind itself cylindrically or spirally; to form a coil; to wind; – often with about or around.
You can see his flery serpents . . .
Coiting
, playing in the water.
Longfellow.

Coil

,
Noun.
1.
A ring, series of rings, or spiral, into which a rope, or other like thing, is wound.
The wild grapevines that twisted their
coils
from trec to tree.
W. Irving.
2.
Fig.: Entanglement; toil; mesh; perplexity.
3.
A series of connected pipes in rows or layers, as in a steam heating apparatus.
Induction coil
.
(Elec.)
See under
Induction
.
Ruhmkorff’s coil
(Elec.)
,
an induction coil, sometimes so called from
Ruhmkorff
, a prominent manufacturer of the apparatus.

Coil

,
Noun.
[Of Celtic origin; cf. Gael.
goil
fume, rage.]
A noise, tumult, bustle, or confusion.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition


Coil

COIL

,
Verb.
T.
To gather, as a line or cord into a circular form; to wind into a ring, as a serpent, or a rope.

COIL

,
Noun.
1.
A rope gathered into a ring; on shipboard, a single turn or winding is called a fake, and a range of fakes is called a tier.
2.
A noise, tumult, bustle.

Definition 2024


coil

coil

English

Noun

coil (plural coils)

  1. Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
    the sinuous coils of a snake
    • Washington Irving
      The wild grapevines that twisted their coils from tree to tree.
  2. Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.
  3. (electrical) A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.
  4. (figuratively) Entanglement; perplexity.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

coil (third-person singular simple present coils, present participle coiling, simple past and past participle coiled)

  1. To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.
    A simple transformer can be made by coiling two pieces of insulated copper wire around an iron heart.
  2. To wind into loops (roughly) around a common center.
    The sailor coiled the free end of the hawser on the pier.
  3. To wind cylindrically or spirally.
    to coil a rope when not in use
    The snake coiled itself before springing.
  4. (obsolete, rare) To encircle and hold with, or as if with, coils.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of T. Edwards to this entry?)
Translations

Etymology 2

Origin unknown.

Noun

coil (plural coils)

  1. (now obsolete except in phrases) A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.
    • 1594, William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, Act III:
      If the windes rage, doth not the Sea wax mad, / Threatning the welkin with his big-swolne face? / And wilt thou haue a reason for this coile?
    • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 162:
      this great Savage desired also to see him. A great coyle there was to set him forward.
    • 1704, Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub:
      they continued so extremely fond of gold, that if Peter sent them abroad, though it were only upon a compliment, they would roar, and spit, and belch, and piss, and f—t, and snivel out fire, and keep a perpetual coil, till you flung them a bit of gold [...].
Quotations
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:coil.
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams


Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kɛlʲ]

Noun

coil m

  1. vocative singular of col (prohibition; sin, lust; violation; dislike; incest; relation, relationship)
  2. genitive singular of col (prohibition; sin, lust; violation; dislike; incest; relation, relationship)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
coil choil gcoil
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.