To rotate quickly or cause something to rotate around a center point, or to present information in a particular way to influence opinion.
From Old English 'spinnan' meaning 'to draw out and twist fibers into thread.' The meaning expanded from textile-making to any rotational motion, and then metaphorically to 'spinning a story' or 'spin control' in modern usage.
The term 'spin' in politics and media is a relatively modern meaning (1980s-1990s) that comes from the older sense of making things rotate. It's brilliant linguistic evolution—the idea that you can 'spin' a story the same way a spinner makes thread, twisting raw materials into something new.
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