▪ I. twilly, a. and n.1
(ˈtwɪlɪ)
Also 4 tywele, twyle, 7 twylle; 5 twelye, 6 twyley, 7 twylly(e.
[OE. twili (= OHG. zwilîh), formed after L. bilix from twi- twi-: cf. thrili a. The ME. var. twile is parallel to thrile, the reduced form of thrili, and is the source of the northern twill n.1]
† a. adj. Twilled. Obs. b. n. † (a) A twilled cloth; also attrib. (Obs.); (b) (see quot. 1948); so twill(e)y hole, a hole left in the centre of a wattle hurdle for the insertion of a pole on which several hurdles may be carried simultaneously.
| c 875 Erfurt Gloss. (Sweet) 1151 Biplex, duplex, tuili. a 900 Leiden Gloss. 157 Bilex, t[u]ili. |
| 1310 Acc. Exors. of Bp. of Exeter (1874) 4, j capa de samitrico tywele linita sindone yndico. 1375 in Boys Hist. Sandwich (1792) 556/2 De chescun twylecloth de la lb...ij d. 1440 in G. P. Scrope Castle Combe (1852) 230, ij. borde cloths, one of twelye. 1552 Berksh. Ch. Goods (1879) 11 One other Coope lyke unto twillye the border of woursted. 1560 Will of Salmon (Somerset Ho.) A Twyley cloth to lay upon her bed. 1600 Holland Livy vii. xiv. 258 The mules sumpters should bee taken off their backes, leaving onely two course twillies or coverings upon them. 1601 ― Pliny ix. lix. I. 269 His companion..latcheth them in a course twillie or couering. 1602 Inv. in Collect. Archæol. (1863) II. 98 Twyllye canvasses. Ibid., One twylle. Ibid. 101 A doble twyllye. 1631 Patent Specif. No. 54. 2 All such kersy seves, otherwise twilly seves or haire seves. 1714 Fr. Bk. of Rates 152 Four Livres..for every Piece of Boucassines, Twillis, Fustians, Bazins, and Bombasins. 1893 N. H. Kennard Diogenes' Sandals vi. 90 A ‘twilley’ hole, is left in the centre of each hurdle for the insertion of the..pole, on which the shepherds carry them. 1948 E. J. Stowe Crafts of Countryside iii. 24 About two-thirds of the way up from the bottom of the hurdle there are two important rods. They are known as ‘twillies’ (a country name for twisted rods), and are twisted about each other and around the upright sails one by one across the hurdle. Ibid. 128 Twillies, two twisted rods woven across wattle hurdles just above the twilly hole. 1959 Times 2 June 12/7 The split rods are twisted until the complete hurdle is ready with the twilly hole in the middle. 1971 Country Life 25 Feb. 424/1 These hurdles differ slightly from sheep hurdles which had a gap or twilly hole in their middle through which a shepherd put his stick to carry a load to the next enclosure. |
▪ II. twilly, n.2
(ˈtwɪlɪ)
Also twilley.
[Altered f. willy, willow.]
A willowing machine: = devil n. 8 a; also called twilly-devil. Hence ˈtwilly v. trans. to willow.
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Twilly, a common name for the willying machine. 1859 Tomlinson Illustr. Usef. Arts 19/1 Supposing the wool to be dyed, it is passed through the willy, or twilly—resembling the willow of the cotton manufacture. 1860 ― Usef. Arts Ser. i. 37 The willy, or shakewilly, as it is called in Yorkshire, and twilly in Gloucestershire. 1869 Eng. Mech. 19 Nov. 240/2 The best machine for pulling flocks is called a ‘twilly’. 1894 C. Vickerman Woollen Spinning viii. 117 This is the first operation after the wool is dyed, and is known by a variety of names, as teasing, willeying, willowing, and twilleying. |