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Added 28 September 2026

yarn

/jɑːn/ noun

In Latin: filum, acia Wiktionary

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

A twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.
Bundles of fibres twisted together, and which in turn are twisted in bundles to form strands, which in their turn are twisted or plaited to form rope.
A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible.
spin a yarn

verb

To tell a story or stories, especially one that is lengthy or unlikely to be true.

Origin

From Middle English yern, yarn, from the Old English ġearn (“yarn, spun wool”), from Proto-West Germanic *garn, from Proto-Germanic *garną (“yarn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰorn-, *ǵʰerH- (“tharm, guts, intestines”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian jern, Dutch garen (“yarn”), German Garn (“yarn”), Danish garn, Swedish garn (“yarn, thread”), Icelandic garn (“yarn”), Latin hernia (“rupture”), Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string”), Sanskrit हिर (hira, “band”). Compare also the obsolete doublet garn.

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

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