English edit

Noun edit

water frame (plural water frames)

  1. (now historical) A water-powered spinning machine, especially of the kind invented by British industrialist Richard Arkwright. [from 18th c.]
    • 2016, Peter Ackroyd, Revolution, Pan Macmillan, published 2017, page 214:
      The water-frame itself, built in units of 1,000 spindles, created the first pure English cotton cloth.