English
thread
Thread comes from Middle English thred, from Old English þrǣd, from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz, ultimately from PIE *terh₁- ‘rub’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘rub’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*treh₁-tu-sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þrēduz‘thread’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þrǣd
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thred
- Englishearliest quotation 1632thread
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘rub’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*treh₁-tu-sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þrēduz‘thread’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þrǣd
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thred
- Englishearliest quotation 1632thread
Earliest quotation: 1632, The Magnetick Lady: Or, Humors Reconcil’d. A Comedy […]: “A neat courtier, / Of a most elegant thread.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘rub, twist’
turn, tournament, throw, tragic, trout, detrimental, threshold, tyrone, detriment, detour, attrition, tourney, triage, trite, termite, tribulation, detritus, thrash, tourniquet, truant, tyro, derma, thresher, thresh, 41 more
Today it means
noun A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / thread