spinster

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Often Offensive A woman, especially an older one, who has not married.
• noun Archaic A person, especially a woman, whose occupation is spinning thread.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A woman who spins; by extension, any person who spins; a spinner.
• noun An unmarried woman (so called because she was supposed to occupy herself with spinning): the legal designation in England of all unmarried women from a viscount's daughter downward; popularly, an elderly unmarried woman; an “old maid”: sometimes used adjectively.
• noun A woman of an evil life or character: so called from being forced to spin in the house of correction. See spin-house.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin.
• noun obsolete A man who spins.
• noun (Law) An unmarried or single woman; -- used in legal proceedings as a title, or addition to the surname.
• noun obsolete A woman of evil life and character; -- so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.
• noun One who spins (puts a spin on) a political media story so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance; a spin doctor, spin merchant or spin master.
• noun obsolete Someone whose occupation was spinning thread.
• noun obsolete A woman of evil life and character; so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an elderly unmarried woman
• noun someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads)