loom

A mechanism on which to weave cloth.  The simplest loom is a wooden frame onto which warp yarns are stretched and fixed to two opposite sides.  The weft is then passed up and over the warp threads to make a fabric.  There are many types of loom: upright looms, backstrap looms, table looms, pit looms, horizontal looms, counterbalance looms, countermarch looms, inkle looms, tapestry looms, handlooms, treadle looms and power looms.  The powerloom was invented by Edmund Cartwright in 1790.  Handlooms prevail in India and in many developing countries where the local economy depends on handcraft.