English
knit
Knit comes from Middle English knytten ‘to attach or close with a knot’, from Old English cnyttan ‘to tie’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *knuttô ‘a knot’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttô‘a knot’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttijaną‘to bind into a knot’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knuttijan‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cnyttan‘to tie’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knytten‘to attach or close with a knot’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591knit
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttô‘a knot’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttijaną‘to bind into a knot’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knuttijan‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cnyttan‘to tie’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knytten‘to attach or close with a knot’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591knit
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “But meet him now, and be it in the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu ‘knee’
through Proto-Germanic *knuttô ‘a knot’
Today it means
verb To turn thread or yarn into a piece of fabric by forming loops that are pulled through each other. This can be done by hand with needles or by machine.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *knuttô / knit