A heddle or looped wire in a loom that guides threads during weaving; also called a 'mail' in textile terminology.
From Old English 'heald' related to 'health' and 'whole,' the word originally meant something that holds or keeps things together—applied to the looped wires that organize threads in weaving.
A medieval loom with hundreds of healds was precision technology—getting all those looped wires aligned correctly determined the quality of the fabric, making master weavers like master programmers!
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