Meaning

noun a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure

noun a plug used to close a hole in a barrel or flask

originFrom Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spile (“splinter, peg”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *spīlaz (“splinter, peg”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“prickle, pointed stick”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian spyl, German Speil (“chip, splinter, gore, wedge”), Danish spile, Dutch spijl.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0