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Glite Dictionary
⚙️ A spiked wheel 🐎 To prick with spur
rowel

rowel

1 9.9
A small spiked wheel on a spur used to make a horse move faster
  • noun
  • /ˈraʊəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pua
  • She adjusted the rowel on her spurs before entering the competition ring, ensuring it was sharp enough to get the horse's attention.
  • rowels on spurs

Examples

  • She attached the new rowels to her spurs.

  • The cowboy touched his rowel to the horse's side, prompting it to move faster.

  • Modern riding spurs have a rowel that rotates smoothly to prevent harming the animal.

  • She carefully checked the rowel on her spur to make sure it wasn’t too sharp.

  • The rowel gleamed in the sunlight.

  • The rider gently pressed the rowel of his spur against the horse's flank to encourage it to move faster.

  • The cowpoke's leather boots featured ornate spurs with shining rowels designed to command his horse's obedience.

Surface Forms

rowel singular
rowels plural

Etymology

Rowel comes from an old root rota meaning 'wheel', and it originally named a small, pointed wheel. That's why a rowel is the spiked wheel at the end of a spur used to urge a horse.