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spile

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spile¹

  • /spaɪl/

Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

From Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spile (“splinter, peg”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *spīlaz (“splinter, peg”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“prickle, pointed stick”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian spyl, German Speil (“chip, splinter, gore, wedge”), Danish spile, Dutch spijl.

noun spiles

  1. Cumbria, dialectal, obsolete A splinter.
  2. A spigot or plug used to stop the hole in a barrel or cask. So I felt my way down the passage back to the vault, and recked not of the darkness, nor of Blackbeard and his crew, if only I could lay my lips to liquor. Thus I groped about the barrels till near the top of the stack my hand struck on the spile of a keg, and drawing it, I got my mouth to the hold.
  3. US A spout inserted in a maple (or other tree) to draw off sap. Now, chamfering one end of the elderberry tube slightly to fit, I push it into the hole and wait. After a few seconds sap will begin to drip from the end of the tube, a tangible flow of life and vitality. […] Beneath the tube, properly called a spile, I place my cup to catch the drips.

verb spiles · spiling · spiled

  1. To plug (a hole) with a spile.
  2. To draw off (a liquid) using a spile.
  3. To provide (a barrel, tree etc.) with a spile.

spile²

  • /spaɪl/

Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

Alteration of pile, after Etymology 1, above.

noun spiles

  1. A pile; a post or girder. What do you see?—Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries. Some leaning against the spiles; some seated upon the pier-heads; some looking over the bulwarks of ships from China; some high aloft in the rigging, as if strivin

verb spiles · spiling · spiled

  1. transitive To support by means of spiles.
  2. transitive To drive piles into.

spile³

  • /spaɪl/

Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

Alteration of spoil.

verb spiles · spiling · spiled

  1. US, ambitransitive, dialectal spoil.

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Cite this
MLA

"spile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spile. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

spile. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spile

Chicago

"spile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spile.

BibTeX
@misc{spile_2026,
  title = {spile},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spile},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}