Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

thread

/ˈθɹɛd/ noun

In Latin: fīlum Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about thread at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework.
A piece of yarn, especially said of warps and wefts in a woven fabric.
Any of various natural (as spiderweb, etc.) or manufactured filaments (as glass, plastic, metal, etc.).
the threads of a spiderweb

verb

To pass a thread through the eye of a needle.
To fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; to string.
To make one's way through or between (a constriction or obstacles).
to thread through narrow passages

Origin

From Middle English thred, þred, threed, from Old English þrǣd, from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz, from Proto-Indo-European *treh₁-tu-s, from *terh₁- (“rub, twist”). Cognates Cognate with Yola dreade (“thread”), Saterland Frisian Träid (“thread, wire”), Cimbrian draat (“string, thread”), Dutch draad (“thread, wire”), German Draht (“thread, wire”), Luxembourgish Drot (“wire”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish tråd (“thread, wire”), Faroese tráður (“thread”), Icelandic þráður (“thread”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian dredh (“twist, turn”). More at throw.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word