Spinsters are called such because they were unmarried women, often older, who had the task of spinning the majority of the yarn and thread in the family, mostly wool and linen. The maidens, also the word for a young, unmarried girl or woman, are parts of the spinning wheel that hold the mother of all. The distaff, a tool used to hold the prepared fiber ready to be spun, lends itself to the distaff, or female, side of the family
