Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Noil

Noil , noun

[Probably from Prov. English oil, ile, ail, a beard of grain (Old English eil, Anglo-Saxon egl) combined with the indef. article, an oil becoming a noil.]

A short or waste piece or knot of wool separated from the longer staple by combing; also, a similar piece or shred of waste silk.