Thĭm'ble, n.
(thĭm'bl), n. [Probably a diminutive of thumb.]
Sense 1. A kind of cap or cover, or sometimes a mere ring, for the finger, used in sewing to protect the finger from the needle. It is usually made of metal, and is indented upon the surface with numerous small pits to catch the head of the needle.
Sense 2. (Mech.) Any thimble-shaped appendage or fixture; — as, (a.) A tubular piece, generally a strut, through which a bolt or pin passes. (b.) A fixed or movable ring, tube, or lining placed in a hole. (c.) A tubular cone for expanding a flue; — called ferrule in England.
Sense 3. (Naut.) An iron ring with a hollow or groove round its whole circumference, to receive the rope which is spliced about it, used to keep the eye of the rope from being chafed. Totten.