reel

See also: Reel and réel

English

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiːl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: real (some accents)
• Rhymes: -iːl

Noun

reel (plural reels)

1. A shaky or unsteady gait.
   • 2010, Andrew Koppelman, The Gay Rights Question in Contemporary American Law (page 92)

     Doubtless the present game of chess was developed through just such fiddling; perhaps someone once thought that the drunken reel of the knight was hostile to the essence of Chess.

2. A lively dance originating in Scotland; also, the music of this dance; often called a Scottish (or Scotch) reel.
3. A kind of spool, turning on an axis, on which yarn, threads, lines, or the like, are wound.

   a log reel, used by seamen

   an angler's reel

   a garden reel

   nudge the fruit machine reel

4. (textiles) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) A machine on which yarn is wound and measured into lays and hanks, —-- for cotton or linen it is fifty-four inches in circuit; for worsted, thirty inches.
5. (agriculture) 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. (film) A short compilation of sample film work used as a demonstrative resume in the entertainment industry.

   Synonym: showreel

Derived terms

• hose reel, hosereel
• newsreel

Translations

dance, music

• Danish: reel c
• French: reel (fr) m
• Irish: ríl f, cor m
• Manx: reel f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: рил m (ril)
• Scottish Gaelic: ruidhle m, rìdhle m, ridhil m
• Swedish: reel (sv) c
• Welsh: ril f

spool

• Arabic: بَكَرَة f (bakara)
• Armenian: կոճ (hy) (koč)
• Bulgarian: макара́ (bg) f (makará)
• Catalan: carret m, rodet m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 捲／卷 (zh) (juǎn), 卷 (zh) (juǎn), 捲筒／卷筒 (zh) (juǎntǒng), 卷筒 (zh) (juǎntǒng)

• Danish: tromle c, rulle c, hjul (da) n, trisse c
• Dutch: spoel (nl)
• Finnish: kela (fi)
• French: bobine (fr) f
• Galician: sarillo m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Georgian: ბაბინა (babina)
• German: Spule (de) f
• Greek: καρούλι (el) n (karoúli), μπομπίνα (el) f (bompína)

  Ancient: πηνίον n (pēníon)

• Japanese: リール (rīru)
• Korean: 릴 (ril), 실패 (ko) (silpae)
• Latin: alabrum n
• Maori: takatakai
• Portuguese: sarilho
• Romanian: mosor (ro) n, bobină (ro) f
• Russian: боби́на (ru) f (bobína), кату́шка (ru) f (katúška), шпу́лька (ru) f (špúlʹka), бараба́н (ru) m (barabán), во́рот (ru) m (vórot), кабеста́н (ru) m (kabestán), руле́тка (ru) f (rulétka)
• Spanish: carrete (es) m

machine for winding yarns

• Danish: rulle c
• Finnish: rulla (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: enrouleur (fr) m
• Galician: sarillo m, debadoira f

device for a harvesting machine

• Finnish: laonnostokela
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Haspel (de) f

compilation of film

• Bulgarian: трейлър m (trejlǎr)
• Danish: rulle c
• Finnish: kela (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Demoband n
• Greek: μπομπίνα (el) f (bompína)
• Russian: тре́йлер (ru) m (tréjler)
• Swedish: rulle (sv) c

Verb

reel (third-person singular simple present reels, present participle reeling, simple past and past participle reeled)

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.

   He reeled off some tape from the roll and sealed the package.

4. To walk shakily or unsteadily; to stagger; move as if drunk or not in control of oneself.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 107:27–They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man.:
   • Template:RQ:Pope Odyssey
   • 1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC:

     the wagons reeling under the yellow sheaves

   • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 30, in The Dust of Conflict‎^[1]:

     It was by his order the shattered leading company flung itself into the houses when the Sin Verguenza were met by an enfilading volley as they reeled into the calle.

   • 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, Virago Press, paperback edition, page 111

     Sarah reels a little, nevertheless, under the dog's boisterous greeting.

5. (with back) To back off, step away, or sway backwards unsteadily and suddenly.

   He reeled back from the punch.

   • 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XX, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 205:

     Terry's fist lashed out, but Simpson, anticipating the blow, stepped quickly to one side. Another followed, however, and caught the older man fairly on the chin, sent him reeling back.

6. To make or cause to reel.
7. To have a whirling sensation; to be giddy.
   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:

     In these lengthened vigils his brain often reeled.

   • 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi:

     The high school had a send-off in my honour. It was an uncommon thing for a young man of Rajkot to go to England. I had written out a few words of thanks. But I could scarcely stammer them out. I remember how my head reeled and how my whole frame shook as I stood up to read them.

8. To be in shock.
   • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[2]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):

     New Jersey was reeling on Wednesday from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused catastrophic flooding here in Hoboken and in other New York City suburbs, destroyed entire neighborhoods across the state and wiped out iconic boardwalks in shore towns that had enchanted generations of vacationgoers.

9. To produce a mechanical insect-like song, as in grass warblers.
10. (obsolete) To roll.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 35:

      And Sisyphus an huge round stone did reele.

Derived terms

• reel in
• reel off

Translations

to wind on a reel

• Bulgarian: намотавам (bg) (namotavam)
• Dutch: oprollen (nl)
• Finnish: keriä (fi), kelata (fi), rullata (fi)
• French: embobiner (fr), enrouler (fr)
• Galician: dobar, debanar, ensarillar (gl)
• German: aufrollen (de)
• Maori: takatakai
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: motać impf, namotać pf, nawijać (pl) impf, nawinąć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: enrolar (pt)
• Russian: нама́тывать (ru) impf (namátyvatʹ), намота́ть (ru) pf (namotátʹ)
• Spanish: enrollar (es)

to spin or revolve repeatedly

• Bulgarian: навивам (bg) (navivam)
• Danish: rulle, spole, vinde
• Finnish: pyörittää (fi) (transitive), pyöriä (fi) (intransitive)
• German: drehen (de), kreisen (de)
• Maori: kōripo
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: wirować (pl) impf, kręcić się (pl) impf, krążyć (pl) impf
• Russian: кружи́ть (ru) impf (kružítʹ), верте́ть (ru) impf (vertétʹ) (transitive), кружи́ться (ru) impf (kružítʹsja), верте́ться (ru) impf (vertétʹsja) (intransitive)
• Swedish: rulla (sv), spola (sv)

to bring or acquire something by spinning or winding something else

• Danish: rulle
• Finnish: kelata (fi), kelata auki
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: leteker (hu)

to walk shakily or unsteadily

• Bulgarian: залитам (bg) (zalitam)
• Czech: vrávorat (cs) impf
• Danish: vakle, rave, slingre
• Finnish: horjua (fi)
• French: tituber (fr)
• German: taumeln (de)
• Italian: barcollare (it)
• Latin: titubō
• Maori: ānewa, ānewanewa, kōkeke, keha, takarangi
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: vakle (no)
• Polish: zataczać się impf, chwiać się (pl) impf (na nogach)
• Portuguese: titubear (pt)
• Russian: идти́ шата́ясь impf (idtí šatájasʹ), спотыка́ться (ru) impf (spotykátʹsja), шата́ться (ru) impf (šatátʹsja)
• Spanish: titubear (es)
• Swedish: vackla (sv)
• Telugu: తూలు (te) (tūlu)

(reel back) to back off or step away unsteadily and quickly

• Danish: vakle
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: horjahtaa (fi)

to make or cause to reel

• Finnish: horjuttaa (reel back), pyörittää (fi) (spin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• Erle, LREE, leer

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Atong (India)

Etymology

Borrowed from English rail, from Middle English rail, rayl, partly from Old English regol (“a ruler, straight bar”) and partly from Old French reille; both from Latin regula (“rule, bar”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reːl/

Noun

reel (Bengali script রেঽল)

1. rains
2. train
3. stud (of a fence)

References

• van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

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Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French réel (“real”), from Medieval Latin reālis (“actual”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛɛl/, [ʁɛˈɛlˀ], [ʁeˈɛlˀ]

Adjective

reel

1. real, proper
2. reliable, trustworthy, honest (about a person)

Inflection

Inflection of reel
	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Indefinte common singular	reel	—	—2
Indefinite neuter singular	reelt	—	—2
Plural	reelle	—	—2
Definite attributive1	reelle	—	—
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English reel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /riːl/, [ʁiːˀl], [ʁiːl], [ɹiːl]

Noun

reel c (singular definite reelen, plural indefinite reeler)

1. (dance) reel

Inflection

Declension of reel

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	reel	reelen	reeler	reelerne
genitive	reels	reelens	reelers	reelernes

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Turkish

Etymology

From French réel, from Latin reālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɾeːl/, [ɾe.ɛl]

Adjective

reel

1. real

   Synonym: gerçek

Related terms

• realite