(Hebrews pelek, a "circle"), the instrument used for twisting threads by a whirl (Proverbs 31:19).

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.

2. (n.) Used as a symbol of the holder of a distaff; hence, a woman; women, collectively.