thread English · revision 5268

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *þrēduz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /θred/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|threde]], [[inh|ang|þrǣd|t=fine cord, especially when twisted]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz “twisted yarn”, the source also of Dutch draad and German Draht “wire”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) probably from [[ine-pro|*terh₁-|alt=*tere-|t=to rub, turn]].^(Etymonline) It is related to Old English þrāwan “to twist”, the source of [[throw]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A fine cord of spun fibres of flax, cotton or silk: about 725 in the OED, before 800 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Each of the yarns forming the warp and weft of a fabric is from about 1200.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) That which runs through the whole course of something, as an argument, is by the 1640s,^(Etymonline) and a single element in a composite whole by 1836.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The spiral ridge of a screw is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) ''Hang by a thread'' goes back to the 16th century and the story of the sword of Damocles.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to pass a thread through a needle, is from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) of sewing machines by 1873, and of film in cameras from 1913.^(Etymonline) ''Threadbare'' is from before 1376, in Piers Plowman.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a fine cord.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – a yarn in a fabric.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-14th century – verb.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – a connecting line of thought.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – the thread of a screw.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1913 – to thread film.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long thin strand of cotton, silk or other fibre used in sewing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A thin line or strand of something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An idea or theme connecting the parts of a story or argument.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The spiral ridge around a [[screw]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pass a thread through the eye of a needle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To move carefully through a crowded place.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put beads or similar things on a thread.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[threader]]

+ * [[threadless]]

+ * [[threadlike]]

+ * [[goldthread]]

+ * [[misthread]]

+ * [[packthread]]

+ * [[threadfin]]

+ * [[threadfish]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[threadbare]]

+ * [[throw]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}