Distaff
a cleft stick about 3 feet long, on which wool or carded cotton was wound in the ancient mode of spinning. The distaff was held under the left arm, and the fibers of cotton drawn from it were twisted spirally by the DISTICH forefinger and thumb of the right hand The thread, as it was spun, was wound on a reel, which was suspended from and revolved with the thread during spinning.
DISTICH (dis'tik), a couplet of verses, especially one consisting of a Latin or Greek hexameter and pentameter, making complete sense.