The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
bung, spile
(noun) a plug used to close a hole in a barrel or flask
pile, spile, piling, stilt
(noun) a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure
Source: WordNet® 3.1
spile (plural spiles)
(obsolete or dialectal) A splinter.
A spigot or plug used to stop the hole in a barrel or cask.
(US) A spout inserted in a maple (or other tree) to draw off sap.
spile (third-person singular simple present spiles, present participle spiling, simple past and past participle spiled)
To plug (a hole) with a spile.
To draw off (a liquid) using a spile.
To provide (a barrel, tree etc.) with a spile.
spile (plural spiles)
A pile; a post or girder.
• .
spile (third-person singular simple present spiles, present participle spiling, simple past and past participle spiled)
(transitive) To support by means of spiles.
(transitive) To drive piles into.
spile (third-person singular simple present spiles, present participle spiling, simple past and past participle spiled)
(US, dialect, ambitransitive) spoil.
• Elpis, Lipes, Peils, Piels, Piles, Siple, piles, plies, pliĂ©s, slipe, spiel
Source: Wiktionary
Spile, n. Etym: [Cf. LG. spile, dial. G. speil, speiler, D. spijl. *170.]
1. A small plug or wooden pin, used to stop a vent, as in a cask.
2. A small tube or spout inserted in a tree for conducting sap, as from a sugar maple.
3. A large stake driven into the ground as a support for some superstructure; a pile. Spile hole, a small air hole in a cask; a vent.
Spile, v. t.
Definition: To supply with a spile or a spigot; to make a small vent in, as a cask.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
14 March 2025
(noun) the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)
The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.