Etymology
1. O.E.
naeðlæ, nedlæ, from P.Gmc.
*næthlo (cf. O.S.
nathla, O.N.
nal, O.Fris.
nedle, O.H.G.
nadala, Ger.
Nadel, Goth.
neþla), lit. "a tool for sewing," from PIE
*net-la-, from base
*(s)ne- "to sew, to spin" (cf. Skt.
snayati "wraps up," Gk.
nein "to spin," L.
nere "to spin," O.C.S.
niti "thread," O.Ir.
snathat "needle," Welsh
nyddu "to sew,"
nodwydd "needle") + instrumental suffix
*-tla."To seke out one lyne in all hys bookes wer to go looke a nedle in a meadow." [Thomas More, c.1530]
Meaning "piece of magnetized steel in a compass" is from 1375; the surgical instrument so called from 1727; sense of "leaf of a fir or pine tree" first attested 1798.
Needlework first attested 1382.
Needlepoint "point lace made with the needle" is from 1865. The verb sense of "goad, provoke" is first attested 1881, probably from meaning "haggle in making a bargain" (1812).
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-
4. Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr
5. Proto-Indo-European *-trom
6. Proto-Indo-European *-tlom
7. Proto-Indo-European *(s)néh₁tlom
8. Proto-Germanic *nēþlą
9. Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
10. Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
11. Proto-Germanic *-ō
12. Proto-Germanic *nēþlō
13. Proto-West Germanic *nāþlu
14. Old English nǣdl
15. Middle English nedle
16. English needle
17. From Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl, from Proto-West Germanic *nāþlu, from Proto-Germanic *nēþlō, from pre-Germanic *neh₁-tleh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”).
18. Cognates
19. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Näddele (“sewing needle”), Dutch naald (“needle”), German Nadel (“needle, pin, crochet hook”), nähen (“sew”), Luxembourgish Nol (“needle”), Vilamovian nöłd (“needle”), Yiddish נאָדל (nodl, “needle, pin”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish nål (“needle”), Elfdalian ną̊l (“needle”), Faroese, Icelandic nál (“needle”), Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐌸𐌻𐌰 (nēþla, “sewing needle”), Finnish neula (“needle”). Further related with Welsh nyddu, Latin nēre, Sanskrit स्नायति (snāyati, “wraps up, winds”). Related to snood. See: Frisian, Saterlandic 'Näddele', Welsh '
nyddu', Sanskrit '
स्नायति'.
Verbs referencing "needle"
English
snood, German, old spelling
nähen.