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yarn

Etymology and origin of the English word yarn

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /jɑːn/, /jɑɹn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English yarn, inherited from Old English gearn (“spun fibre”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Proto-Germanic *garną.[3][4] It is related to Old High German garn, Old Norse garn and Dutch garen.[3][4][5] The Germanic word is traced to the Proto-Indo-European root *ghere- “gut, entrail”,[2][4] so that it is related to Old Norse gǫrn “gut”, Greek khordḗ “string, intestine” and Latin hernia “rupture”.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spun fibre, as of wool, cotton, silk or flax, prepared for weaving or knitting (c. 1000).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “a long story” arose from the nautical expression to spin a yarn, recorded from 1812.[7][4][3] It is said to come from sailors' habit of telling stories while doing sedentary work such as twisting yarn,[4] with an allusion to length.[4] From the same date yarn is a verb, “to tell a story”.[7][3][5] In Australia and New Zealand a yarn is also simply a chat (1857).[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – spun fibre.[7][3]
  • 1627 – in rope-making, one of the threads of a strand.[7]
  • 1812 – to spin a yarn; a story, a tale.[7][4][3]
  • 1812 – verb, to tell a story.[7][3][5]
  • 1857 – a chat (Australia, New Zealand).[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A continuous strand of twisted fibres, such as wool or nylon, used in weaving and knitting; also, a similar strand of glass, metal or plastic.
  2. A long, often elaborate story of real or invented adventures, especially a tall tale.

Verb

  1. To tell a yarn or a series of tales.

Word family

  • yarner
  • chord
  • hernia
  • cord
  • spin

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • riddle · also from Old English
  • plight · also from Old English
  • kettle · also from Old English
  • Sabbath · also from Old English
  • navel · also from Old English
  • leech · also from Old English
  • sponge · also from Old English
  • henchman · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Yarn.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/yarn. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·