Forms: α. 5 wirtil, writel, 9 whirtle, wortle. β. 7 wurdle, 9 wordle. (Of obscure origin.] An implement used in the drawing of wire or lead-pipe (see quots. 1875). Also Comb., as wortle-maker, -plate.
1430. Cov. Leet-bk., 142. Joh. Smyth, wirtilmaker. Ibid., 160. Tho. Smyth, writelmaker.
1664. H. Power, Exp. Philos., 56. Your Wire-drawers know, that if they take a short piece of Wire,… and drill it through, that then though they draw it out to the smalness of a hair, yet will it still remain hollow quite through in despite of their Wurdle.
1819. Rees, Cycl., XXVII. 3 M 2. The workmen are provided with a great number of these plates…; they are called whirtles. Ibid. This winds up the double chains, drawing the pipe through the whirtle, by which it diminishes its size and lengthens it out.
1875. Knight, Dict. Mech., Whirtle, a perforated steel plate through which pipe or wire is drawn to reduce its diameter. Ibid., Wordle, one of the pivoted cams in a draw-head,… capable of simultaneous adjustment … to regulate the size of the throat through which the tube or wire is drawn.
1888. Science, 14 Dec., 286/1. The wire … breaking into short lengths when being pulled through the wortles.
1913. Engineering, 18 April, 541/3. It is also probable that the earliest wortles were hard stones. Ibid., 542/1. The wortle-plates required by those engaged in drawing wire by hand.
