ˈbäbə̇n noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
1.
a. : any of various small, round, or cylindrical devices usually of bone, wood, or metal on which threads are wound for working bobbin lace
b. : a cylinder or spindle with a flange at one or both ends and a hole through the center of its length on which slubbing, roving, yarn, or thread is wound in machinery for roving, spinning, twisting, weaving, or sewing or for making lace — called also cop, pirn, quill, reel, spool
c. : the little rounded piece of wood at the end of a latchstring
d. : a coil of insulated wire or the reel round which it is wound
e. : an assembly of the carbon electrode with the depolarizer molded around it in dry-cell construction
2. : a narrow cotton cord formerly used by dressmakers for piping