Spool

noun
1.
any cylindrical piece or device on which something is wound.
2.
a small cylindrical piece of wood or other material on which yarn is wound in spinning, for use in weaving; a bobbin.
3.
a small cylinder of wood or other material on which thread, wire, or tape is wound, typically expanded or with a rim at each end and having a hole lengthwise through the center.
4.
the material or quantity of material wound on such a device.
5.
Angling. the cylindrical drum in a reel that bears the line.
verb (used with object)
6.
to wind on a spool.
7.
to unwind from a spool (usually followed by off or out).
8.
Computers. to operate (an input/output device) by using buffers in main and secondary storage.
verb (used without object)
9.
to wind.
10.
to unwind.
noun
1.
a device around which magnetic tape, film, cotton, etc, can be automatically wound, with plates at top and bottom to prevent it from slipping off
2.
anything round which other materials, esp thread, are wound
verb
3.
(sometimes foll by up) to wind or be wound onto a spool or reel
spool
(spl)
To store data that is sent to a device, such as a printer, in a buffer that the device reads. This procedure allows the program that sent the data to the device to resume its normal operation without waiting for the device to process the data.

operating system
Acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line; but see also spool.
[Jargon File]
(1996-05-20)

language
An object-oriented logic programming language.
[“An Experience with a Prolog Based Language”, K. Fukunaga et al, SIGPLAN Notices 21(11):224-231 (Nov 1986) (OOPSLA ’86)].
[Jargon File]
(1995-03-25)

operating system
To send files to some device or program (a “spooler” or demon) that puts them in a queue for later processing of some kind. Without qualification, the spooler is the “print spooler” controlling output of jobs to a printer; but the term has been used in connection with other peripherals (especially plotters and graphics devices) and occasionally even for input devices.
The term “SPOOL” has been attributed to IBM as an acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line but it’s widely thought to have been contrived for effect.
[No connection with “spool of magnetic tape”?]
[Jargon File]
(1996-05-20)
spool
simultaneous peripheral operation online