Spile /(spīl)/

Spile

n.
  1. A small plug or wooden pin, used to stop a vent, as in a cask.
  2. A small tube or spout inserted in a tree for conducting sap, as from a sugar maple.
  3. A large stake driven into the ground as a support for some superstructure; a pile.
  4. One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead on top of a set of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground. (Mining)

Phrases & Compounds

Spile hole
a small air hole in a cask; a vent.

Spile

v. t.
  1. To supply with a spile or a spigot; to make a small vent in, as a cask.