Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil Uses a Different Coil
A coil is a length of something wound in loops. Shakespeare's famous line uses an unrelated word meaning fuss.
A coil is a length of rope, wire or tubing wound into loops. Hamlet's *shuffle off this mortal coil* is not about winding: a separate sixteenth-century *coil* meant noise, fuss or turmoil, so the line means to leave behind the bustle of living. The two words are unconnected and the second is now obsolete except in that quotation. An electrical coil concentrates a magnetic field, which is what makes motors, transformers and speakers possible.
- A wound length. *A coil of rope.*
- To wind. *Coil the hose.*
- An electrical winding. *An ignition coil.*
- Turmoil (archaic). *This mortal coil.*
- Old French — *coillir*, to gather. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | coil | A coil. |
| Plural | coils | Coils. |
| Verb | coil | Coiling. |
| Adjective | coiled | Coiled. |
| Latin | colligere | To gather. |
- He coiled the rope neatly.Winding.
- The ignition coil failed.Electrical.
- The Shakespeare line means turmoil.Literature.
Why coils matter in electricity
- A current in a wire creates a magnetic field around it
- Winding the wire stacks those fields into one strong field
- Motors turn that field into rotation
- Transformers use two coils to change voltage
- Speakers move a coil in a magnet to push air
Old French *coillir*, to gather or collect, from Latin *colligere*. The sense of turmoil is a separate word of uncertain origin.
What does this mortal coil mean?
The bustle and turmoil of living. It uses an obsolete word meaning fuss, not the winding sense.
Why is wire wound into coils?
Winding stacks the magnetic field of each turn into a single strong field, which is what drives motors and transformers.