spool vi. [from early IBM Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line , but is widely thought to be a backronym ] To send files to some device or program (a spooler ) that queues them up and does something useful with them later. Without qualification, the spooler is the print spooler controlling output of jobs to a printer; but the term has been used in connection with other peripherals (especially plotters and graphics devices) and occasionally even for input devices. See also demon.