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Added 9 October 2026

reel

/ˈɹiːl/ noun

Categories: ThingsLanguageUncommon Words

In Latin: alabrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about reel at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A roll of photographic film holding a series of frames to be projected by a movie projector.
  2. Music composed for dancing a reel.
  3. Winder consisting of a revolving spool with a handle; attached to a fishing rod.

verb

  1. Walk as if unable to control one's movements.
    The drunken man staggered into the room
  2. Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis.
    The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy
  3. Wind onto or off a reel.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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