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Spile vs Spife - What's the difference?

spile | spife |

As nouns the difference between spile and spife

is that spile is a splinter or spile can be a pile; a post or girder while spife is a hybrid utensil of a spoon and a knife.

As a verb spile

is to plug (a hole) with a spile or spile can be to support by means of spiles or spile can be (us|dialect|ambitransitive) spoil.

spile

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) or (etyl) , (etyl) spile.

Noun

(en noun)
  • A splinter.
  • A spigot or plug used to stop the hole in a barrel or cask.
  • *1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 4
  • *: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.
  • (US) A spout inserted in a maple (or other tree) to draw off sap.
  • Verb

    (spil)
  • To plug (a hole) with a spile.
  • To draw off (a liquid) using a spile.
  • To provide (a barrel, tree etc.) with a spile.
  • Etymology 2

    Alteration of (pile), after Etymology 1, above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A pile; a post or girder.
  • Verb

    (spil)
  • To support by means of spiles.
  • Etymology 3

    Alteration of (l).

    Verb

    (spil)
  • (US, dialect, ambitransitive) spoil.
  • Anagrams

    * * * ----

    spife

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A hybrid utensil of a spoon and a knife.