threadn.
/θrɛd/, U.S. /θrɛd/ I. A cord, piece of yarn, or related uses.
1. † c. spec. A fishing-line. (In quot. 1622 figurative) Obsolete.
a. A fine cord composed of the fibres or filaments of flax, cotton, wool, silk, etc. spun to a considerable length; spec. such a cord composed of two or more yarns, esp. of flax, twisted together; applied also to a similar product from glass, asbestos, a ductile metal, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > a thread
threadc725
c725 Corpus Gloss. (O.E.T.) 876 Filum, ðred.
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxix. §1 Hwæt ðæt bið gesælig mon þe him ealne weg ne hangað nacod sweord ofer ðæm heafde be smale þræde.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 218 Cnyte mid anum ðræde on anum clænan linenan.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7096 Nes þe þwong..buten swulc a twines þræd [c1300 Otho twined þred].
c1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 9 It hath..an yȝe like a nedel by whiche þredes ow to be drawen agayn by middez of þe fistule.
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) l. 1999 He teyde a tredde on a pole.
1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 186 Thair brycht hairis..wyppit wyth goldyn thredis.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings vii. 23 A threde of thirtie cubites longe.
1641 W. Gascoigne in Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) (1834) III. Hist. Astron. xiii. 66/2 I am fitting my sextant for all manner of observations, by two perspicills with threads.
1720 R. Welton tr. T. Alvares de Andrade Sufferings Son of God II. xxii. 594 From these little Threads..such strong Cables are form'd.
1828 J. M. Spearman Brit. Gunner 150 Hawsers (Machine made)... Of 4 Inches, or 108 Threads..Of 10 Inches, or 648 Threads.
1832 G. R. Porter Treat. Manuf. Porcelain & Glass ix. 231 Glass may be spun into very long and minute threads.
b. The sacred thread with which Brahmins and Parsees are invested at initiation: see quots.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > other implements > [noun] > thread
thread1582
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. xvi. 42 b Vpon their left sholders they had certaine number of thrids, which came vnder their right shoulders.
1860 J. Bateman Life Bp. D. Wilson I. xii. 341 Several Brahmins being manifested by their ‘thread’.
1874 J. H. Blunt Dict. Sects 405/2 [Parsees] The investiture at initiation with the sacred thread.
1903 Times 5 Mar. 3/5 Mrs. Ruttonjee Tata..was..invested with the sacred thread and sudra of the Parsees.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > fishing-line > [noun]
linec1374
fishing-line1466
string1585
thread1602
fish-line1639
taum1670
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 31v For catching of Whiting and Basse, they vse a thred, so named, because it consisteth of a long small lyne with a hooke at the end.
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 137 Thinking, that the King (what with his Baits, and what with his Nets) would draw them all vnto him,..diuers came away by the Thred, sometimes one, and sometimes another.
2.
a. Each of the lengths of yarn which form the warp and woof of a woven fabric; hence, any one of these as an ultimate constituent of such a fabric, and thus of one's clothing; the least part of one's dress; esp. in the phrase not a (one) dry thread on one. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > least part of
threadc1200
steek1771
stitch1818
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > woven > thread(s)
threadc1200
strand1827
c1200 Vices & Virt. 39 Ðar behoued to maniȝe þreades ær hit bie full wroht.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) i. pr. i. 2 Hyr clothes weeren maked of riht delye thredes.
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 316 Ilche þreed of siche cloþis þat ben tuo wast & too costliche.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xiv. 23 Fro a threed of the weeft vnto a garter of an hoos I shal not take of alle thingis that ben thin.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xv. ii. 699 It shalle not lye in your power nor to perysshe me as moche as a threde.
1550 J. Veron Godly Saiyngs sig. G.viii Howe can you..come to this roial feast and banket, not hauing one thrid of this wedding rayment..vpon you?
1578 G. Best True Disc. Passage to Cathaya iii. 28 He that hadde fiue or sixe shifts of apparell, hadde scarce one drie threede to his backe.
1598 Floure & Leafe in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 367v/1 The ladies ne the knights nade o threed Dry on them.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iii. ii. sig. F4 Your threescore minutes Were at the last thred . View more context for this quotation
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture III. 13/2 I take a veil made of the finest threds..: this I divide into..squares..by some bigger threds parallel to each other.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. i. 20 There will no be a dry thread amang us or we get the cargo out.
1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. Great Brit. vi. 201 Plain silks, as well as most woven fabrics, consist of threads crossing each other at right angles.
1879 R. Jefferies Wild Life 133 The costume is true to a thread.
1908 in Westm. Gaz. 1 Apr. 12/1 Till April's dead, change not a thread.
b. bare (also) worn to the thread, etc. = threadbare adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [adjective] > by loss of material or wasted > worn > worn bare > threadbare
threadbare1362
bare1483
bare (also) worn to the thread1483
peeled?a1513
sere1523
pilled1548
napless1596
thready1910
1483–4 Act 1 Rich. III c. 8 Preamble, Suche course Clothes, beyng bare of threde.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) xvii. 254 His garments to a thred All bare, and burn'd.
1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights I. 23 The furniture was scanty, and the coverings worn to the thread.
c. thread and thrum, each length of the warp-yarn, and the tuft where it is fastened to the loom; hence figurative the whole of anything; good and bad together. Also, threads and thrums, ends of warp threads, miscellaneous scraps or waste fragments.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > variety > [noun] > miscellaneous things
short end1560
threads and thrums1600
varieties1624
giblet1638
thrum1648
scrip-scrap1711
sundries1711
odds and ends1761
oddment1821
odd-come-short1836
what-nota1861
flotsam1861
odds and sods1921
odds and bobs1957
the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > [noun] > the whole quantity, number, or amount > the whole lot
every whita1450
every stitch?a1500
the devil and all1543
prow and poop1561
Christ-cross-row1579
every snip1598
thread and thrum1600
boodle1625
hair and hoof1705
rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725
tutti quanti1772
lot1791
lock, stock, and barrel1824
stock and fluke1825
the whole boiling1837
box and dice1839
the whole caboodlea1848
sub-cheese1859
the whole kit and boiling (boodle, caboodle, cargo)1859
the whole jingbang1866
the whole hypothec1871
the whole ball of wax1882
the whole (entire) shoot1884
(at) every whip-stitch1888
work1899
issue1919
guntz1958
full monty1979
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 281 O fates come, come, cut thread and thrumme . View more context for this quotation
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. G2v Learne of me what Woman is. Something made of thred and thrumme; A meere Botch of all and some.
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 93 By those thrums and threds that he hath pickt and puld out of it.., the Reader may judge of the whole.
1833 T. Carlyle Diderot in Crit. & Misc. Ess. (1872) V. 2 The confused and ravelled mass of threads and thrums, ycleped Memoirs.
d. A lineal measure of yarn: the length of a coil of the reel, varying in amount according to the material, and also with the locality (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > unit of measuring yarn
thread1650
1650 in Acts & Ordnances Interregnum, 1642–60 (1911) II. 453 Every Reel-staff containing Fourteen Lea's, and every Lea..Forty thrids.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. vi. 288/2 A knot is a Hundred Threds round the Reel.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) at Lea Every Lea of Yarn at Kidderminster shall contain 200 Threds reel'd on a Reel four yards about.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Lea, forty threads of hemp-yarn.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Thread,..a yarn-measure, containing in cotton-yarn 54 inches; in linen-yarn 90 inches; in worsted yarn 35 inches. On the Continent 85½ Ermland inches make one thread.
1875 J. H. Temple & G. Sheldon Hist. Northfield, Mass. 161 A run of yarn consisted of twenty knots, a knot was composed of forty threads, and a thread was seventy-four inches in length, or once round the reel.
e. figurative. A single element interwoven with others in any composite fabric, mental, moral, social, political, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > constituent part or component > single element in any complex
thread1836
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. vii. 264 In this, as in almost all theories..there is indeed a thread of truth.
1851 A. Helps Compan. Solitude xiii. 275 The threads of our poor human affairs..might yet be interwoven harmoniously with the great cords of love and duty.
1859 C. Kingsley Misc. (1860) II. ii. 29 The only threads of light in the dark web of his history are clerical and theurgic.
1879 J. Stainer Music of Bible 168 The pleasure which accrues to a trained musician when he grasps in his mind many threads of delicious melody, and traces the composer's genius in interlacing them.
f. plural. Clothes. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun]
clothesc888
hattersOE
shroudc1000
weedOE
shrouda1122
clothc1175
hatteringa1200
atourc1220
back-clout?c1225
habit?c1225
clothingc1275
cleadinga1300
dubbinga1300
shroudinga1300
attirec1300
coverturec1300
suitc1325
apparel1330
buskingc1330
farec1330
harness1340
tire1340
backs1341
geara1350
apparelmentc1374
attiringa1375
vesturec1385
heelinga1387
vestmentc1386
arraya1400
graitha1400
livery1399
tirementa1400
warnementa1400
arrayment1400
parelc1400
werlec1400
raiment?a1425
robinga1450
rayc1450
implements1454
willokc1460
habiliment1470
emparelc1475
atourement1481
indumenta1513
reparel1521
wearing gear1542
revesture1548
claesc1550
case1559
attirement1566
furniture1566
investuring1566
apparelling1567
dud1567
hilback1573
wear1576
dress1586
enfolding1586
caparison1589
plight1590
address1592
ward-ware1598
garnish1600
investments1600
ditement1603
dressing1603
waith1603
thing1605
vestry1606
garb1608
outwall1608
accoutrementa1610
wearing apparel1617
coutrement1621
vestament1632
vestiment1637
equipage1645
cask1646
aguise1647
back-timbera1656
investiture1660
rigging1664
drapery1686
vest1694
plumage1707
bussingc1712
hull1718
paraphernalia1736
togs1779
body clothing1802
slough1808
toggery1812
traps1813
garniture1827
body-clothes1828
garmenture1832
costume1838
fig1839
outfit1840
vestiture1841
outer womana1845
outward man1846
vestiary1846
rag1855
drag1870
clo'1874
parapherna1876
clobber1879
threads1926
mocker1939
schmatte1959
vine1959
kit1989
1926 G. H. Maines & B. Grant Wise-crack Dict. 11/2 New set of threads, new suit of clothes.
1959 R. Bloch Blood runs Cold (1963) 163 Mitch got into some decent threads—he had this one blue suit and he wore a white shirt and a tie too.
1972 M. J. Bosse Incident at Naha ii. 64 My friends, who grooved the way I did... I mean, love beads, wild threads, granny glasses..and a bit of grass.
1978 J. Gardner Dancing Dodo xxiii. 175 Load it and get in on under that set of executive threads.
3. † b. figurative. The material or ‘fibre’ of which anything is composed; ‘texture’, quality, nature. Obsolete.
a. Without a, as name of the substance of which the above-mentioned things are composed, or of these things taken in the mass; woollen, silk, linen, cotton, or other fibre, or fine-drawn metal, spun into material for weaving, knitting, sewing, or fastening: often with distinctive premodifier, as gold or silk thread; sometimes spec. flaxen or linen thread as distinct from silk or cotton; in plural, kinds of thread.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun]
yarnc1000
threadc1386
Muscovy yarn1604
multifilament1944
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > metallic > gold or silver
goldOE
fildora1350
gold or silk threadc1386
purl1394
silver1423
shreda1450
Venice gold1506
Venice silver1574
spun gold1728
passing1848
tambour1899
c1386 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 485 Nettes of gold threed hadde he greet plentee.
c1400 Rom. Rose 7369 A large coverechief of threde She wrapped alle aboute hir hede.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 6775 Of his hors fel that kynge, As it were a clewe of thred.
c1400 Lybeaus Disc. (Kaluza) 940 As selke þrede.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii. x, in Wks. 195/1 He thankinge the monke for the thrid, desired him to teach him how he should knit it.
1545 Rates Custome House sig. cvijv Threde called wotenall threde.
1552–3 Inventory Church Goods in Ann. Diocese Lichfield (1863) IV. 48 ij vestements, one of grene chamblet, another of threde.
1576 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 264 For a quartern of black threede.
1584 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 370 For iii li. of thrid of all cullers.
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Comm. Notable Thinges in tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 320 They take out of this plant..a kinde of thride or yarne.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 94 Wt threid of silke..al the partes of the sarke..thay sewit.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 184 They have also thread from another tree called Langir.
1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Turreff The principal manufacture is that of linen yarn, thread, and brown linens.
1887 Daily News 19 Oct. 2/8 Linens and threads maintain the improvement lately reported.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > character or nature > [noun]
birtha1250
the manner ofc1300
formc1310
propertyc1390
naturea1393
condition1393
qualitya1398
temperc1400
taragec1407
naturality?a1425
profession?a1439
affecta1460
temperament1471
essence?1533
affection1534
spirit?1534
temperature1539
natural spirit1541
character1577
complexion1589
tincture1590
idiom1596
qualification1602
texture1611
connativea1618
thread1632
genius1639
complexure1648
quale1654
indoles1672
suchness1674
staminaa1676
trim1707
tenor1725
colouring1735
tint1760
type1843
aura1859
thusness1883
physis1923
1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. 268 Hypocrisie is spunne of a fine threed, and is not easily discerneable.
1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 147 Of the same pure thred with the rest of her life.
1659 O. Walker Some Instr. Art of Oratory 19 That the Oration may seem Continuous and all of one thread.
1718 S. Ockley Hist. Saracens II. Introd. p. xiii The language must be all of the same thread.
1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires ii. iv. 14 The Matter nice, and wrought of subtle Thread.
4.
a. Something having the slenderness or fineness of a thread: e.g. a fine ligament, an animal or vegetable fibre, a hair, a filament of a cobweb or of the byssus of a shellfish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > [noun] > thread-like object
thread1398
filament1594
film1597
tendril1615
fibre1827
filamentule1837
fibril1876
threadlet1882
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xviii. xi Þe spiþer..drawiþ and bringeþ ofte aȝen his þrede þwarte ouer fro pointe to pointe.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 263 Þer is a þreed vndir sum mannes tunge þat he mai not put out his tunge as he schulde, & also it lettiþ him to speke.
?1541 R. Copland Galen's Fourth Bk. Terapeutyke sig. Aiijv, in Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens A spyder threde.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. ii. 2 A Fog which sometimes casts it self into Threds or Ropes, and..furls up into Gossamere.
1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner ii. iv. xxxv. 57 Producing the least Thread of a capilar Root.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 45 These threads, which are usually called the beard of the muscle.
1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) I. 365 The Seeds, with the elastic threads to which they are attached.
1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) IV. 129 Threads when dry uniting into stiff sharp points. Conferva amphibia.
b. A ‘string’ of any viscid substance; a thin continuous stream of liquid, sand, etc.; a narrow strip of space; a fine line or streak of colour or light; a ‘thin’ continuity of sound; spec. in glassmaking: see quot. 1832.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > [noun] > long narrow object (varied general uses)
straina1529
trait1561
thread1593
stream1597
wire1601
streak1726
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > faintness or weakness > [noun] > faint or weak sound
semi-souna1386
thread1593
understrain?1802
undernote1820
undertone1832
flick1844
undersound1847
undertune1866
whimper1895
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [noun] > glass > marks or imperfections in
thread1593
streak1807
seed1821
stripe1823
bull's-eye1832
stria1832
tear1832
bullion1834
wreath1839
sand-hole1867
bullion-point1881
pontil mark1923
oil spot1962
saliva1969
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 61v Why breake not thunder-bolts through the Clowdes in steade of thrids of rayne?
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §24 Stillicides of Water..will Draw themselues into a small thred.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 121 What a long thread of sand passes the neck-hole of an hour~glass in that same time.
1723 J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Syst. Nat. Philos. I. i. xxii. 139 If it be a fat Liquor, it will go on in a long Thread, whose Parts are uninterrupted.
1830 Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumberland 1 186 Sandstone roofs [in coal-mines] are subject to fissures of various sizes and extent, called threads and gullets by the colliers.
1832 G. R. Porter Treat. Manuf. Porcelain & Glass 248 The name of threads is usually given to fibrous appearances in the body of the glass, which result from the vitrification of clay.
1837 P. Keith Bot. Lexicon 56 The infusions were absorbed by the roots, and carried up to the very summit of the stem, leaving..traces of their ascent in the form of longitudinal streaks or threads.
1869 W. E. Gladstone Juventus Mundi xi. 432 The Trojan elders, whose volubility, and their shrill thread of voice, Homer compares to the chirp of grasshoppers.
1884 J.H. Hollowell in Congregationalist June 498 The pale Aare..winds its white thread through the valley.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 6 Apr. 2/1 Using her pleasant thread of voice agreeably.
1904 Daily Chron. 17 Oct. 8/1 The amazing thing is that so much good work should be done in such a mere thread of space.
1907 Outlook 16 Nov. 661/1 A little thread of unfrozen water which tinkles feebly over the rocks.
c. Applied to the apparent action of a feeble pulse: see quot. 1899, and cf. thread-like adj. b, thready adj. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered pulse or circulation > [noun] > small or weak pulse
concentrated1714
concentred1739
wiriness1801
thread1899
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VI. 49 A mere tightened thread being felt under the finger.
d. A degree of stickiness reached in boiling clarified syrup for confectionery: see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparing confectionery > [noun] > stages in boiling syrup
candy height1617
candying1656
thread1862
softball1869
caramelization1889
1862 J. Thomas How to mix Drinks 104 There are nine essential points, or degrees, in boiling sugar. They are called Small Thread, Large Thread, Little Pearl, Large Pearl [etc.].
1862 J. Thomas How to mix Drinks 104 The sugar forms a fine thread which will break at a short distance... This is termed the ‘Small Thread’.
1862 J. Thomas How to mix Drinks 104 A somewhat longer string will be drawn. This is termed the ‘Large Thread’.
1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 152/1.
5. transferred. The spiral ridge winding round the shank of a screw; also, each complete turn of this; a similar ridge round the inside of a cylindrical hole, as in a nut or a screwhole.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > screw > thread
thread1674
worm1678
screw thread1812
fillet1869
1674 W. Petty Disc. before Royal Soc. 116 The Force must be increased at every Turn or Thred of a Screw-Press.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ii. 31 Turn about the tap in the hole and make grooves and threds in the Nut.
1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xxiv. 192 Taper Screws made with Iron, having very deep Threads, whereby they hold fast when screw'd into Wood.
1829 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. Mechanics ii. xi. 48 Hunter's screw..gives an indefinitely slow motion, without requiring a very exquisitely fine thread.
1875 J. Lukin Carpentry & Joinery 81 A tap..to cut the requisite thread inside the nut.
1902 P. Marshall Metal Working Tools 63 For pipes and tubes a special thread termed a gas thread is employed.
1936 R. T. Kent et al. W. Kent's Mech. Engineers' Handbk. (ed. 11) III. ix. 36 Self-tapping screws are screws that may be driven into an untapped hole, forming the thread in the hole as they are driven.
1972 How Things Work III. 168 For the majority of screwed work a tap is used for internal threading (Fig. 3, showing the thread being cut in a nut) and a die head is used for external threading.
1977 Reader's Digest Bk. Do-It-Yourself Skills & Techniques vi. 175/2 As soon as the tap starts to cut, stop pressing down, and let the tap screw itself into the hole, cutting a thread as it goes.
II. In extended uses.† 10. A (fine) dividing line or boundary line. to cut (to) a thread (between): to strike the exact line of division, to ‘draw the line’. Obsolete.
6. figurative. Something figured as being spun or continuously drawn out like a thread.
a. The continued course of life, represented in classical mythology as a thread which is spun and cut off by the Fates.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > course or span of life
life-dayOE
year-daysOE
timeOE
dayOE
lifeOE
life's timeOE
livelihoodOE
yearOE
lifetimea1300
life-whilea1300
for (also to) term of (a person's) lifea1325
coursec1384
livingc1390
voyage1390
agea1398
life's dayc1425
thread1447
racea1450
living daysc1450
natural life1461
lifeness1534
twist1568
leasec1595
span1599
clew1615
marcha1625
peregrination1653
clue1684
stamen1701
life term1739
innings1772
lifelong1814
pass-through1876
inning1885
natural1891
life cycle1915
puff1967
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 8 Wil..Attropos..My fatal threed a sundyr smyte.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 43 Or than deth the threed untwyne Of oure fatal web.
1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) xliii His vitall threde.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. ii. sig. Cv Sad Clotho held the rocke, the whiles the thrid By griesly Lachesis was spun with paine, That cruell Atropos eftsoones vndid, With cursed knife cutting the twist in twaine. View more context for this quotation
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §42 For my owne part, I would not..beginne againe the thred of my dayes. View more context for this quotation
1696 N. Tate & N. Brady New Version Psalms of David xc. 10 So soon the slender Thread is cut.
1704 J. Swift Full Acct. Battel between Bks. in Tale of Tub 258 Her Son..to whom the Fates had assigned a very short Thread.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein II. v. 167 Why I should spare my own almost exhausted thread of life.
1846 H. G. Robinson Odes of Horace ii. iii While..the three Sisters' sable thread Allows you still the power.
1907 E. J. Dillon in Contemp. Rev. Nov. 705 So long as three such Parcae have the threads of Macedonia in their hands.
b. In various other applications: see quots.
ΚΠ
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxxv. 17 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 124 Wilt thou of thy wrathfull rage Draw the threed from age to age?
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 16 He draweth out the thred of his verbositie, finer then the staple of his argument. View more context for this quotation
1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 88v I will stretch the thred of my subiect to a further length.
1645 City Alarum 19 Consider first what a thred of time the German wars have spun out.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 32 Fearing he should break the thread of your patience, he concludes.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 173 I cut the Thread of all his Comforts, and shorten'd his Days.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. vii. 260 To make up a continued Thread of History of the Length of between three and four thousand Years.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature (1834) II. 664 Drawing out the threads of argumentation, preventing them from entangling.
7. A thread in various mythological or legendary tales (esp. that of Theseus in the Cretan Labyrinth) is mentioned as the means of finding the way through a labyrinth or maze: hence in many figurative applications: That which guides through a maze, perplexity, difficulty, or intricate investigation: cf. clew n. 3, clue n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > guidance > that which guides
lodestarc1374
clew1385
Palinurus1567
stern1577
thread1580
twist1580
sea-mark1589
Pole Star1590
cynosure1596
buoya1603
oracle1612
leading light1653
gospela1674
indexc1750
polar stara1774
pilot star1789
clue1840
guidance1841
guideline1917
breadcrumb trail1969
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 46 Neither Ariadnes thrid, nor Sibillas bough, nor Medeas seede, may remedy thy griefe.
1582 T. Watson Ἑκατομπαθία: Passionate Cent. Loue lv My guiding thrid by Reason spunne.
1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Aiij Hauing gotten this thred by the end, I neuer left winding til I came to the paper that made the bottom.
c1614 W. Mure tr. Virgil Dido & Æneas i. in Wks. (1898) I. 6 Path'd wayes I trace, as Theseus in his neid, Conducted by a loyal virgin's threid.
a1672 P. Sterry Disc. Freedom of Will (1675) sig. Ciij What a golden-thread of Harmony guides us through the nature of things!
1711 W. King tr. G. Naudé Polit. Considerations Refin'd Politicks i. 11 Having in my hand that thread of knowledge, which might extricate me thence.
8. That which connects the successive points in anything, esp. a narrative, train of thought, or the like; the sequence of events or ideas continuing through the whole course of anything; train. Esp. in to pick (also take) up the thread(s) (of), to continue (with) after an interruption or separation; spec. to resume an interrupted friendship; to lose the thread, to cease to follow the sense of what is being said.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > [noun] > continuous succession > a continuous series or course
seriousnessc1487
continuity1601
train1606
series1613
thread1642
continuum1650
clue1656
run1709
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue doing or keep going in a course of action [verb (intransitive)] > after an interruption or separation
to pick (also take) up the thread(s) (of)1881
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > make friends with [verb (transitive)] > resume a friendship
to pick (also take) up the thread(s) (of)1907
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > misunderstand [phrase]
to take amissa1425
to walk wide in words1529
to have (also take, catch) the wrong pig by the ear (also tail)1536
to be out of the story1649
to be at cross-purposes1688
I beg your pardon1806
to lose track of1894
to get (someone) wrong1927
to speak past ——1952
to lose the thread1956
1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell iii. 40 If one read skippingly and by snatches, and not take the threed of the story along, it must needs puzzle and distract the memory.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther iii. 89 The Matron..then, Resum'd the thrid of her discourse agen.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. p. lxiv After a Pause, the grave Companion resumes his Thread;..Well, but to go on with my Story.
1782 F. Burney Diary Dec. (1842) II. 215 We laughed so violently..that he could not recover the thread of his harangue.
1844 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VIII. lxii. 201 We resume the thread of Grecian history.
1881 R. L. Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque 137 We shall..take up again the thread of our enjoyment in the same spirit as we let it fall.
1907 G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island iv. 95 Eighteen years is a devilish long time, Nora. Now if it had been eighteen minutes, or even eighteen months, we should be able to pick up the interrupted thread, and chatter like two magpies.
1924 A. Christie Poirot Investigates v. 125 Philip Ridgeway narrated the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the bonds... When he had finished, Poirot took up the thread with a question.
1929 H. J. Laski in Holmes-Laski Lett. (1953) II. 1169 I don't, I suppose, see him more than once in two years; but I always find that we can take up the threads and plunge in medias res without any difficulty.
1944 E. S. Gardner D.A. calls Turn (1947) xi. 101 If it were true, he'd make some sort of a financial adjustment, but could hardly be expected to pick up the thread of a life where it had been broken ten years ago.
1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. i. 215 He stopped and, for a moment, he appeared to have lost the thread of his remarks.
1980 D. Lodge How Far can you Go? vi. 226 Dennis and Angela picked up the threads of their lives together,..a little chastened, but both hugely relieved.
1981 A. Schlee Rhine Journey xi. 143 He chose..to appear to have lost the thread of the discussion and looked from one to another with a kind of cautious bewilderment.
9. Some continuous or persistent feature which runs through the pattern of anything, or combines with other features to form a pattern or texture.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a characteristic > continuous or persistent
thread1685
common thread1761
1685 M. Evelyn Let. in J. Evelyn Diary & Corr. (1859) IV. 40 A thread of piety accompanied all her actions.
1823 C. Lamb in London Mag. Sept. 251/2 An historical thread runs through [Sydney's Sonnets].
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues I. 552 The continuous thread which appears and reappears throughout is rhetoric.
1892 J. A. Symonds Life Michelangelo (1899) I. vii. vii. 343 A pleasant thread runs through Michel Angelo's correspondence.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] > bounding line or surface > boundary-line > dividing
threadc1400
dividentc1450
several1597
ideal line1767
the Great (Continental) Divide1868
borderline1869
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > discriminate, distinguish [phrase]
to tell tother (or t'other) from whicha1325
can (or could) skillc1340
tella1425
to thread the difference1627
to cut (to) a thread (between)1647
to draw the line1766
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1771 Þat prynce[s] of pris de-presed hym so þikke, Nurned hym so neȝe þe þred, þat nede hym bi-houed Oþer lach þer hir luf oþer lodly re-fuse.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 28 To twine vp this threde of deuision [the division of plants into kinds] vpon some bottome.
c1591 W. Davies in J. H. Pollen Acts Eng. Martyrs (1891) 131 It was come to that now, that a thread divided my life and death.
1598 J. Manwood Treat. Lawes Forrest xx. f. 161 Within the lists or bounds of the Forrest, or, within the threed (as they cal it:) of the Forrest.
1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 49 To cut an exquisite thred between..Kings Prerogatives, and Subjects Liberties.
1650 N. Ward Discolliminium 19 I know no harder task..than..to cut a just thread between Gods Providence, and Mans Improvidence.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccccxvi. 393 The Art of Pleasing is..the Skill of Cutting to a Thrid, betwixt Flattery and Ill Manners.
11. The central line of the current of a stream, esp. as a boundary line. [Rendering medieval Latin filum aquae: compare French fil de l'eau.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [noun] > course
gangeOE
streama1552
train1570
sweep1596
river channel1629
currency1657
thread1691
current1708
urn1726
river run1927
1691 Blount's Νομο-λεξικον (ed. 2) Filum Aquæ is the Thread or Middle of the Stream, where a River parts Two Lordships.
?17.. tr. Commission to ordain Ways to Hull The Jurors say that from the thread of the Water of Hull [1302 de filo aque de Hull] there is a certain way ordained next Alexander Cook's Mill.
?17.. tr. Charter 25 Hen. VI (1447) All lands between the said ditch as far as the middle thread of the water of Humbre [L. usque medium fili acque de Humber].]
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 110 One part of a river is generally observed to flow with much greater velocity than any other part, and is therefore called the thread or channel of the river, which is very rarely in the middle, or at any regular distance from the banks.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 255.
1886 H. Austin Farm Law 135 (Cent. Dict.).
12. That by which something is suspended, or upon which things hang. to hang by (on, upon) a thread: to be in a precarious condition. Often with reference to the legend of Damocles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > future [verb (intransitive)] > be imminent
comeOE
nigha1225
to draw nearc1330
approachc1374
drawa1375
to stand ina1382
to stand ona1382
instand1382
to draw ona1450
proacha1450
to draw nigha1470
to fall at handa1535
to hang by (on, upon) a threada1538
instant1541
to prick fast upon1565
impend1674
simmer1703
depend1710
loom1827
to knock about1866
to come up1909
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [noun] > that by which something is suspended > like a thread
threada1538
c888 : see sense 1. ]
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 81 But thys hangyth only apon the wyl of the prynce a veray weke thred in such a case.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxiijv There hangeth assuredly a wounderfull daunger ouer you, as a sworde dependynge ouer your neckes by a twhyne threde.
1607 H. Raymond Ode in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign James I (1848) 360 Life, ioy, and euery pleasant weede, Scarce hangeth by a slender threede.
1804 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 19 My evening prospects now hang on the slender thread of a single life.
1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 94 Hair-bridges, suspending you by a thread of logic.
13. In reference to other functions of a thread; esp. as a means of connecting or holding together.Sometimes with mixture of sense 6 or 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > that which connects or bond
bridgeOE
chain1377
bond1382
connex1490
link1548
conjunction1570
solder1599
claspa1674
vinculum1678
tie1711
concatenation1726
umbilical cord1753
thread1818
colligation1850
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 301 She kept in her hands the thread of many a political intrigue.
1844 A. B. Welby Poems (1867) 58 She was the golden thread that bound us In one bright chain together here.
1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1866) 1st Ser. xv. 260 A thread runs through all true acts stringing them together.
1861 J. Tulloch Eng. Puritanism i. 84 So was snapped the last feeble thread of negotiation.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 123 Many threads join together in one the love and dialectic of the Phædrus.
1904 J. Weston in Romania 33 334 (note) A thread uniting all the different parts of our legend.
Compounds
C1. General. (a) Simple attributive, ‘of thread’, as threadball, thread-end, thread-mill, thread-spool, etc. (b) in sense ‘made of linen or cotton thread’ = threaden adj., as thread bodice, thread girdle, thread glove, thread net, thread point, thread ribbon, thread shoe, thread stocking, etc. (often hyphenated). (c) Objective and objective genitive, as thread-coupler, thread-drawer, thread-maker, thread-manufacturer, thread-spinner, thread-twister, thread-winder, etc.; thread-cutting, thread-forming, thread-making, thread-spinning, thread-twisting, thread-winding, etc. nouns and adjectives; thread-wise adv.; similative, parasynthetic, etc., as thread-line; thread-lettered, thread-shaped adjs.
a. † thread girdle n. Obsolete† thread point n. Obsolete
threadball n.
ΚΠ
1896 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 21 Nov. 543/1 Peer's wild run through the night over the charred heath, stumbling over the threadballs and broken straws.
1918 G. Frankau One of Them xvi. 123 How the three crones must laugh as they entwine Cat's-cradle-wise our mortal threadball's tangle.
thread bodice n.
ΚΠ
c1665 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 275 A black thread bodice.
thread-coupler n.
ΚΠ
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 399 Thread coupler; assists harness-builder..in setting-up harness for jacquard looms.
thread-cutting n.
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 894/1 Thread-cutting machine..for cutting threads in bolts, etc.
thread-drawer n.
ΚΠ
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms § 428 Drawer, thread drawer;..takes piece of material..to form a handkerchief, and draws..certain warp and weft threads.
thread-end n.
ΚΠ
1900 W. H. Hudson Nature in Downland 53 Slender dry bents standing out like pale yellow thread-ends.
ΚΠ
a1604 M. Hanmer Chron. Ireland 80 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) A linnen or threed Girdle.
thread glove n.
ΚΠ
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. I. 201 Fast cotton dyeing for Lisle thread gloves.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Lisle-gloves, fine thread gloves.
thread-line n.
ΚΠ
1890 J. P. Ballard Among Moths & Butterflies 122 The quickness of the parting and closing of this narrow thread-line.
thread-maker n.
ΚΠ
1695 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. III. vii. 237 Where had they Thread when the Thread-makers Trade was not invented?
thread-making n.
ΚΠ
1878 J. Watson (title) Art of Spinning and Thread-Making.
thread-net n.
ΚΠ
1895 I. Zangwill Master i. vii A thread-net confined her hair.
ΚΠ
1635 in M. Christy Voy. L. Foxe & T. James (1894) I. 42 He gave every one of them a Threed point [= needle].
thread riband n.
ΚΠ
1650 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. (ed. 2) xxi. 34 in Epistolæ Ho-elianæ (ed. 2) Calicoes, threed-ribbands, and such polldavy ware.
thread satin n.
ΚΠ
1713 London Gaz. No. 5173/4 A Thread-Sattin Night-Gown, striped red and white.
thread-spinner n.
ΚΠ
1892 ‘M. Twain’ Amer. Claimant x. 102 Today, the work of..the 2,000,000 thread-spinners [women] is done by 1,000 girls.
thread-spool n.
ΚΠ
1870 R. W. Emerson Society & Solitude 88 Out of blocks, thread-spools, cards, and checkers, he [the child] will build his pyramid.
thread stocking n.
ΚΠ
c1665 in Verney Mem. II. 275 Stirrup thredd stockins.
1697 tr. Countess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 3 They..presented me with Gloves, and Thread-Stockings, most delicately knit.
1712 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Jan. (1948) II. 461 I hide my purse in my thread stocking between the bed's head and the wainscot.
thread-twister n.
ΚΠ
1725 London Gaz. No. 6384/7 Gabriel Beale,..Thread-Twister.
b.
thread-forming adj.
ΚΠ
1927 T. Woodhouse Artificial Silk: Manuf. & Uses 34 The tanks which supply the solution to the thread-forming apparatus.
thread-lettered adj.
ΚΠ
1873 Routledge's Young Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 83/2 The specific name filigrammaria, or thread-lettered.
thread-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. i. xix. 52 An Amentaceous aggregate Flower has a Filiform, Thread-shaped Receptacle.
thread-winding adj.
ΚΠ
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 2560 Thread-winding Guide..Thread-winding Machine.
c.
thread-wise adv.
ΚΠ
1918 M. B. Lowndes Out of War? xx. 255 The narrow, winding road which ran thread-wise on the cliffs.
C2.
thread-animalcule n. a vibrionine animalcule.
ΚΠ
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 184 Strings which they pull out to make..thread shooes after the Spanish manner.
thread bag n. Jamaica a small cloth bag, tied or drawn closed with a thread or string.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > bag > [noun] > of other specific material
net bag1598
hair bag1712
paper bag1723
thread bag1924
plastic bag1941
polybag1964
ziplock1974
buveera1994
kaveera1994
1924 M. W. Beckwith Jamaica Anansi Stories 35 An' Goat cut her up an' put her in his tread-bag.
1953 R. Mais Hills were Joyful Together ii. xii. 226 Her money gone! Somebody had robbed her while she was asleep. She carried it in a threadbag tied with a string around her neck.
thread belay n. Mountaineering a belay in which the rope or sling is passed through a hole in the rock before being secured again to the climber.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > artificial aid > types of
runner1688
runner ring1791
ice axec1800
alpenstock1829
rope1838
climbing-iron1857
piolet1868
snap-link1875
prickera1890
middleman('s) knot (also loop, noose, etc.)1892
chock1894
glacier-rope1897
piton1898
run-out1901
belaying-pin1903
snap-ring1903
ironmongery1904
line1907
Tricouni1914
ice claw1920
peg1920
sling1920
ice piton1926
ice hammer1932
karabiner1932
rock piton1934
thread belay1935
mugger1941
running belay1941
piton hammer1943
sky-hook1951
etrier1955
pied d'éléphant1956
rope sling1957
piton runner1959
bong1960
krab1963
rurp1963
ice screw1965
nut1965
traverse line1965
jumar1966
knife-blade1968
tie-off1968
rock peg1971
whammer1971
Whillans whammer1971
Whillans harness1974
1935 Jrnl. Fell & Rock Climbing Club 10 236 (caption) Thread belay.
1941 C. F. Kirkus Let's go Climbing! iv. 54 Here you use a thread belay, passing a loop of your rope through a muddy hole behind a chockstone..and tying it round the stone or on to your waist line.
1965 A. Blackshaw Mountaineering viii. 225 Because a thread belay with the main climbing rope is usually very awkward and complicated..slings are normally used.
thread-board n. in a ringframe, a board placed over the spindles to hold the thread-guides.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > spinning > machine > types of > parts of
mendoza1803
faller1807
headstock1825
rim wheel1827
traveller1830
ring spindle1837
carrying comb1844
whirler1860
coiler1873
breaking-frame1875
nosing motion1883
tube1884
weigh-box1884
check-band1892
presser eye1892
thread-board1892
1892 J. Nasmith Students' Cotton Spinning ix. 328 The yarn is taken through the wire eyes fixed in hinged boards known as ‘thread boards’.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
thread-carrier n. a guide through which the yarn passes in the knitting-machine (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1877).
thread-cell n. (a) a stinging cell in cœlenterates; a nematocyst; (b) a spermatozoon ( Cent. Dict.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Diploblastica > phylum Coelenterata > [noun] > member of > parts of > cell in which power of stinging resides
thread-cell1859
nematocyst1868
cnida1876
nemocyst1878
stinging-cell1885
cnidocyst1888
colloblast1900
1859 T. H. Huxley Oceanic Hydrozoa 82 The distal division remains short, and acquires only small thread-cells.
1871 G. J. Allman Monogr. Gymnoblastic Hydroids I. p. xiv Thread-cells, peculiar bodies consisting of a containing capsule and contained filament destined for urtication.
thread clips n. (see quot. 1964); also attributive in singular.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > equipment for cutting > shears or clippers
sample cuttera1884
thread clips1958
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > equipment for > other
none-so-prettyc1700
finding1856
needle threader1863
packing-awl1875
thread clips1958
1958 Times 27 Dec. 4/1 Threadclip scissors..are employed in the weaving trade for snipping loose ends during the weaving process.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour v. 62/2 Thread clips, a real time-saving little clipper that can be used effectively for snipping threads and making the small clips needed for marking or for curved seams. It has one ring which fits over the little finger, and is operated by squeezing with the palm of the hand.
thread-counter n. a magnifying glass used in counting the threads within a given space in a texture.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > other processes > equipment for
comb1398
scrawc1563
scray1791
plaiting machine1813
canroy1836
needle-board1879
serigraph1881
ager1884
thread-counter1909
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Texture-counter, a small magnifying-glass of low power, used in counting the number of threads, within a given space, in the texture of a fabric.
thread-cutter n. (a) a small blade attached to a sewing machine or the like for severing a sewing-thread; (b) a tool or machine for cutting screw-threads.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > equipment for > sewing-machine > parts of or attachments for
presser bar1813
flat bed1819
shuttle1847
foot1854
looper1857
take-up1859
work holder1859
feller1860
shuttle-carrier1860
binder1865
braider1866
ruffler1868
presser foot1875
shuttle-windera1877
tension-device1877
thread-cutter1877
thread-oiler1877
tuck-creaser1877
tucking-gauge1877
tuck-marker1877
thread-guide1924
zipper foot1938
free arm1948
balance-wheel1961
tuck-folder-
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Thread-cutter, a small blade attached to a thimble, to a thread-stand, or to a sewing-machine, to cut off a sewing-thread.
Categories »
thread-drawing n. the process of ornamenting a textile fabric by drawing out some of the threads so as to form a pattern; cf. drawnwork n.
thread-feather n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > feather > [noun] > other specific types
drivings1682
whisker1752
subaxillary1820
accessory plume1835
flake-feather1837
filoplume1867
penna1871
thread-feather1872
deck-feather1879
streamer1879
racket1887
afterfeather1937
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 4 Filoplumes (filoplumæ), or thread~feathers..have an extremely slender, almost invisible, stem.
thread-fin n. = thread-fish n., (a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > [noun] > suborder Polynemoidei (thread fins) > polynemus quadridactylus (thread-fin)
thread-fish1885
thread-fin1896
tassel-fish1898
1896 D. S. Jordan & B. W. Evermann Check-list Fishes & Fish-like Vertebr. N. & Middle Amer. 335 Polynemidæ. The Threadfins.
1933 Bulletin (Sydney) 5 Apr. 27/3 Thread~fins..rarely extend southward to the coast of N.S. Wales.
1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. c–5/1 He was credited with introducing threadfin shad as a forage fish for bass.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
thread-finisher n. a machine by which a smooth glossy surface is given to thread (Knight, 1877).
thread-fish n. (a) a polynemoid fish; (b) the West Indian cobbler-fish, Blepharis crinitus; (c) the cutlass-fish or silvery hair-tail, Trichiurus lepturus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > [noun] > suborder Polynemoidei (thread fins) > polynemus quadridactylus (thread-fin)
thread-fish1885
thread-fin1896
tassel-fish1898
1885 W. T. Hornaday Two Years in Jungle xxxii. 386 All but three were thread fishes, a stange species of Polynemus..distinguished by the..thread-like filaments..attached to the pectoral fins.
thread-flower n. (a) a name for plants of the genus Poinciana, N.O. Leguminosæ, section Cæsalpinieæ, so called from their long thread-like stamens; (b) a plant of the South American genus Nematanthus, N.O. Gesneraceæ, of climbing shrubs, bearing crimson flowers pendent on long stalks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > poinciana
poinciana1731
Barbados pride1756
flower-fence1786
gulmohar1839
flamboyant1879
peacock flower1884
thread-flower1884
flamboyant tree1903
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Crimson Thread-flower, Poinciana (Cæsalpinia) Gilliesii.
thread-foot n. a name of the herb Podostemon ceratophyllus, in reference to its finely-divided linear leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > aquatic, marsh, and sea-shore plants > [noun] > thread-foot
river weed1832
Podostemum1836
podostemad1846
thread-foot1884
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Thread-foot, Podostemon ceratophyllus.
thread-frame n. a machine in which linen or cotton yarn is doubled and twisted into thread.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > machine for making linen or cotton thread
thread-frame1839
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1239 The doubling and twisting of cotton or linen yarn into a compact thread..is performed by..the thread-frame.
Thesaurus »
thread-gauge n. a gauge for ascertaining the number of turns to the inch in, or the accuracy of, a screw-thread (Knight, 1877).
thread-guide n. a device in a sewing- or spinning-machine for directing the thread (Knight, 1877).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > equipment for > sewing-machine > parts of or attachments for
presser bar1813
flat bed1819
shuttle1847
foot1854
looper1857
take-up1859
work holder1859
feller1860
shuttle-carrier1860
binder1865
braider1866
ruffler1868
presser foot1875
shuttle-windera1877
tension-device1877
thread-cutter1877
thread-oiler1877
tuck-creaser1877
tucking-gauge1877
tuck-marker1877
thread-guide1924
zipper foot1938
free arm1948
balance-wheel1961
tuck-folder-
1924 Earl of Ronaldshay India xiii. 159 The supply from abroad of such things as bobbins, plane tree-rollers..and porcelain thread-guides was cut off.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour v. 69/2 On most machines, the last thread guide will indicate the direction in which the thread must enter the needle.
thread-herring n. popular name of (a) Dorosoma cepedianum, also called the mud-shad or gizzard-shad (local, U.S.); (b) a clupeoid fish, Opisthonema thrissa, of the Atlantic coast of North America, in which the last ray of the dorsal fin is thread-like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > order Clupeiformes > [noun] > family Clupeidae and herrings > doromosa cepedianum (hickory shad)
hickory shada1816
shad-herring1845
mud shad1876
gizzard shad1884
stink-shad1884
white-eyed shad1884
winter shad1884
thread-herring1888
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 409 In the Chesapeake region it is known as the ‘Mud-Shad’,..in North Carolina as the ‘Hairy-back’ or the ‘Thread Herring’.
thread-indicator n. a device for the accurate measurement of plant-growth, in which a thread attached to the plant passes over a pulley and actuates a registering apparatus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > botany > [noun] > botanical instruments > for measuring growth
thread-indicator1875
auxanometer1878
1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 747 The Thread-indicator..in which..a horizontal needle..moves freely over a graduated scale as the end of the thread which is fixed to the plant rises with its growth.
thread-leaved adj. having narrow filiform leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > plant defined by leaves > [adjective] > having leaves of particular shape or size
broad-leaved1552
long-leaved1562
narrow-leaved1578
round-leaved1597
small-leaved1597
long-leafed1629
rosemary-leaved1633
rue-leaved1633
teretifolious1657
cut-leaved1731
longleaf1733
channel-leaved1758
halberd-shaped1770
alder-leaved1772
oak-leaved1776
holly-leaved1777
ivy-leaved1789
halberd-headed1795
daisy-leaved1796
narrow-leaf1804
oblique-leaved1807
sword-leaved1807
wing-leaved1822
flaggy1842
curly1845
macrophyllous1857
parvifolious1857
shield-leaved1860
curled1861
symphyllous1877
beak-leaved188.
stenophyllous1880
thread-leaved1884
megaphyllous1901
little leaf1908
ivy-leaf1909
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Drosera filiformis, Thread-leaved Sun-dew.
threadman n. a maker or seller of thread.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > one who
threadman1663
thread-woman1753
society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > seller of thread
threadman1663
thread-woman1753
1663 MS Canterbury Marriage Licences Stephen Ward of Maidstone, thredman.
1711 London Gaz. No. 4932/4 Benjamin Cutlove, of London, Threadman.
Categories »
thread-mark n. a distinguishing mark consisting of a highly coloured thread, incorporated in bank-note paper to prevent counterfeiting by photography.
thread-mill n. a factory actuated by water or steam power in which thread is made.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > place for
thread-mill1799
thread-work1856
1799 Hull Advertiser 23 Feb. 3/2 A..fire broke out..which entirely consumed nine thread-mills.
1907 Daily Chron. 2 Oct. 6/6 Exciting scenes..in connection with the Paisley thread mill strike.
thread-miller n. a machine for milling or cutting threads.
ΚΠ
1922 Daily Tel. 12 June 20/3 Tools, furnaces, pumps, thread millers.
thread-moss n. a moss of the genus Bryum or one of its allies.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > other mosses
golden maidenhair1578
polytrichon1578
bryon1597
maidenhair moss1597
mountain coralline1598
chalice-moss1610
purple bottle1650
water moss1663
fern-moss1698
hypnum1753
Mnium1754
rock tripe1763
feather-moss1776
scaly water-moss1796
screw moss1804
hog-bed1816
fringe-moss1818
caribou moss1831
apple moss1841
bristle-moss1844
scale-moss1846
anophyte1850
robin's rye1854
wall moss1855
fork-moss1860
thread-moss1864
lattice moss1868
robin-wheat1886
1864 M. G. Campbell in Intellect. Observer No. 33. 155 The thread-mosses are an interesting and numerous tribe.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
thread-oiler n. an oil vessel through which the thread was conducted in some sewing machines (Knight, 1877).
thread-petalled adj. having filiform petals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [adjective] > having or relating to parts > of or having petals
foliaceous1658
monopetalous1687
pentapetalous1687
polypetalous1687
hose-in-hose1688
monopetalose1693
pentapetalose1693
tetrapetalose1694
tetrapetalous1697
tripetalose1698
tripetalous1704
hexapetalous1707
petalous1719
petaloid1720
planipetalous1730
petaline1783
petaliform1788
petalled1793
polypetal1803
hexapetaloid1813
hexapetaloideous1830
tripetaloid1830
tripetaloideous1830
unipetalous1831
petaliferous1847
macropetalous1857
sympetalous1870
apopetalous1875
anisopetalous1880
petally1888
thread-petalled1899
thousand-petalled1951
decapetalous-
synpetalous-
1899 Daily News 7 Dec. 11/1 Spidery kinds [of chrysanthemums] include the thread-petalled Mrs. Carter.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
thread-plant n. any plant from which fibre for thread-making is obtained (Ogilvie, 1882).
thread rush n. Juncus filiformis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > rush and related plants
rusheOE
sharp rushc1050
seave14..
junk?a1425
candle-rushc1440
rush1562
sea-rush1562
camel's-straw1578
mat-rush1578
sprot1595
frog grass1597
matweed1597
rush grass1597
sprata1600
spart1614
bumble1633
toad-grass1640
moss-rush1670
thresha1689
spreta1700
bog rush1760
black grassa1763
goose-corn1762
toad-rush1776
wood-rush1776
stool-bent1777
scrub-grass1811
beak-rush1830
salt-weed1836
wiwi1840
thread rush1861
three-leaved rush1861
kill-cow1898
1861 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. V. 291 Thread Rush, or Slender Rush..is remarkable for its thread-like stems.
thread-sister n. [sister n. 12c] the stool on which the thread-lace pillow is placed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > lacemaking > other equipment
thread-sister1721
pricking1851
sister1892
1721 C. King Brit. Merchant I. 285 Thred Sisters.
thread-tangle n. the seaweed Chorda filum, having long cylindrical fronds; sea-laces.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun] > whipcord seaweeds
sea-thong1633
sea-lace1666
sea-points1666
fucus1714
sea-catgut1833
sea-whipcord1833
sea-whiplash1833
thread-tangle1844
whipcord1850
whiplash1850
sea-whip1858
thong weed1958
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 416 The Chorda filum, or thread-tangle.
thread-waxer n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making footwear > [noun] > equipment or materials for > materials > wax > bowl of
thread-waxer1877
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Thread-waxer, a bowl of heated shoemaker's wax, through which the thread is conducted in sewing-machines for boots, shoes, and leather.
thread-wire n. a wire thread-guide in a spinning-machine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > spinning > machine > parts of
knave1564
porcupine roller1776
catch box1809
jack-frame1814
Jack-in-the-box1814
flyer frame1825
sneck1825
thread-wire1825
creel1835
fly-frame1835
self-actor1835
trumpet-mouth1835
counter-faller1836
Jack1875
trumpet1877
back-shaft1879
builder1884
pot-eye1884
twizzle1884
rice creel1895
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 398 When either of the threads break, the thread-wire through which it passes falls down.
thread-woman n. see threadman n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > one who
threadman1663
thread-woman1753
society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > seller of thread
threadman1663
thread-woman1753
1753 World 25 Jan. 21 The happiest in the world, madam, returned the thread-woman.
thread-work n. (a) a fabric consisting of or resembling threads; ornamental work formed of threads, lace-work; drawn thread work: see drawnwork n.; (b) plural a thread-making establishment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > place for
thread-mill1799
thread-work1856
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > lace
window work1586
threading1852
thread-work1856
1856 R. A. Vaughan Hours with Mystics (1860) II. viii. ix. 97 The deftly-woven threadwork of the tissues.
1862 E. Bulwer-Lytton Strange Story II. xxvii. 184 Pillows edged with the thread-work of Louvain.
1906 Daily Chron. 10 May 9/4 Mill girls employed in the thread works joined this organisation.
thread-worn adj. worn to the thread, threadbare; also, of a screw, having a worn thread. See also threadbare adj., thread-lace n., etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > usual or ordinary > commonplace
quotidian1430
trite1548
beaten1587
trivial1589
threadbare1598
protrite1604
prose1606
commonplace1616
everyday1628
prostitute1631
prosaical1699
tritical1709
prosaic1729
tritish1779
hack1821
rum-ti-tum1832
unspecial1838
banal1840
commonplacish1847
prosy1849
inventionless1887
thread-worn1888
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [adjective] > wearisome or tedious > dull through repetition
trite1548
beaten1587
threadbare1598
repetitious1673
hackneyed1747
monotonous1780
commonplace1801
thread-worn1888
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > old-fashioned or antiquated > stale, trite, or hackneyed
stale1550
cock-crowen1577
hackney1590
threadbare1598
worn-out1713
hackish1868
thread-worn1888
timeworn1901
old hat1949
connect-the-dots1971
join-the-dots1988
1888 Dublin Rev. July 69 The subject..is threadworn.
Draft additions June 2012
Computing.
a. A programming structure or sequence of operations formed by linking a number of separate elements or subroutines; esp. each of the parts of a program executed concurrently in multithreading. Cf. threading n. Additions b.
ΚΠ
1972 Proc. 1st. European Seminar Computing with Real-Time Syst. 96 The present research is aimed at investigating the costs of using a common program for different machines, and this leads to the concept of ‘single-thread programming’.
1989 Byte Aug. 130/2 Threads are the basis of OS/2's multitasking capability.
1997 PC Mag. 21 Jan. 200/1 This proliferation of threads affects performance, since each thread requires a context switch in order to execute.
2008 Mac Life Jan. 17/1 The compiler needs to be conservative about how it handles threads, since it doesn't know the state of the computer on which the compiled software will be running.
b. A linked sequence of posts or messages relating to the same subject on a newsgroup, internet forum, or social media platform.
ΚΠ
1984 Beta Testers for Readnews Replacem. Wanted in net.news (Usenet newsgroup) 30 May When following subject threads, the next article with the same subject is located while the last page of the previous article is being read.
1984 Re: Macintosh Devel. Techniques in fa.info-mac (Usenet newsgroup) 4 Dec. This would be a very interesting thread for experienced Mac programmers on info-mac.
1994 CompuServe Mag. Sept. 8/1 A self-described ‘overpackaholic’ started a thread in the Travel Forum.
1995 .net June 78/1 Almost all newsreaders offer the facility to save articles and threads to your hard drive while you are reading them.
2019 @YouSeemFine 24 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 19 May 2019) Hi George, you create a thread by REPLYING with each subsequent tweet to the tweet before it, not by quoting previous tweets.
Draft additions June 2016
thread vein n. (chiefly in plural) a tiny vein or capillary vessel that has become enlarged and visible just under the skin, esp. on the face or legs (cf. spider veins n. at spider n. Compounds 2a).
ΚΠ
1921 Washington Post 20 Oct. 8/8 My nose is always red and red thread veins..are present all the time. How can I remedy this?
1985 Times (Nexis) 23 Dec. In my day, headmistresses came..complete with hairy tweed two-pieces and thread veins.
1999 Folkestone Herald 7 Jan. 16/1 (advt.) Thread vein removal—on face and legs by sclerotherapy injections or laser.
2014 S. Bhattacharya et al. Pregnancy: Beginner's Guide 97 You might get a few tiny spider, or thread, veins on your cheeks.
Draft additions September 2021
thread count n. the number of threads in a given area of fabric, used as a measure of its coarseness or fineness. Frequently as a modifier, and preceded by qualifying number (with a higher number denoting a finer texture).Now typically determined by the number of threads in a square inch, and used esp. as an indicator of the quality of bed linen.
ΚΠ
1893 Cincinnati Commerc. Gaz. 11 Nov. 7/2 There are twenty-one different rates, governed by the thread count per square yard.
1935 Pathfinder (Washington, D.C.) 30 Mar. 19/1 When a material shrinks a lot it may be due to low thread count.
1989 Bon Appétit Sept. 14/1 Luxurious sheets and pillowcases in the softest no-iron 200 thread count Mostly Cotton percale.
2007 Glamour Apr. 294 Transform your bedroom into a luxurious diva boudoir with these 400-thread-count sheets.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
threadv.
/θrɛd/, U.S. /θrɛd/ 1.
a. transitive. To pass one end of a thread through the eye of (a needle) in order to use it in sewing; to furnish (a needle) with a thread; also, to treat (any perforated object) in the same way (as in quot. 1607).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > sew or ornament textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > sew > thread needle
thread?a1366
threadle1767
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > through > cause to pass through > in its proper course > specifically a thread
thread?a1366
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 99 A sylvre nedle forth I droughe,..And gan this nedle threde anon.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 755/2 I threde a nedell to sowe with, je enfile.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Ei/1 To Threede, acum filo inducere.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 395 Thread all the other rings with the loose end of the Rope.
1676 C. Hatton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 124 Good for nothing but to sit in ladyes chambers and thred their needles.
1709–10 R. Steele Tatler No. 141. ⁋2 The Girl can scarce thread a Needle.
1840 T. C. Haliburton Let. Bag Great Western (U.K. ed.) i. 14 He threaded my needle for me.
b. transferred. To cause (something) to pass through something else, as a thread through the eye of a needle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > through > cause to pass through
pass1530
to pass through ——1530
to get through1813
thread1851
1851 G. A. Mantell Petrifactions iii. §7. 341 The graphic simile..that the Plesiosaurus might be compared to a serpent threaded through the shell of a turtle.
1894 H. H. Gardener Unofficial Patriot 27 Nature built these mountains, and threaded that little river over the stones.
1901 L. M. Waterhouse Conduit Wiring 3 Size of Conductors which can be threaded through Simplex Conduits.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 28 Apr. 5/2 The [foot-]ball was..threaded in and out among the Southampton players.
c. figurative. To pass through, make a hole through, penetrate, pierce.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come in [verb (intransitive)] > penetrate
wade993
smitec1275
reachc1300
piercea1325
sinkc1330
enterc1350
soundc1374
thirl1398
racea1420
takea1425
penetrate1530
penetre?1533
ransack1562
strike1569
thread1670
raze1677
perforate1769
spit1850
riddle1856
1670 J. Pettus Fodinæ Regales 2 When the Miners by these Shafts or Adits do strike or threed a Vein of any Metal.
1896 Pall Mall Mag. May 12 Tom out here will have leave to thrid you with bullets.
1899 B. Capes Lady of Darkness xvi Thridding Ned's brain as they passed with a receding sound like that made by pebbles hopping over ice.
d. Of a man: to have sexual intercourse with (a woman). slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with > specifically of a man
jape1382
overliec1400
swivec1405
foilc1440
overlay?a1475
bed1548
possess1592
knock1598
to get one's leg over1599
enjoy1602
poke1602
thrum1611
topa1616
riga1625
swingea1640
jerk1650
night-work1654
wimble1656
roger1699
ruta1706
tail1778
to touch up1785
to get into ——c1890
root1922
to knock up1934
lay1934
pump1937
prong1942
nail1948
to slip (someone) a length1949
to knock off1953
thread1958
stuff1960
tup1970
nut1971
pussy1973
service1973
1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VII. i. 109/1 To thread the needle, to possess a woman.]
1958 B. Behan Borstal Boy i. 15 Sheila would be sorry she did not let me thread her, the night we walked the canal.
2.
a. To fix (anything) upon a string or wire that passes through it; esp. to connect (a number of things) by passing a thread through each, to string together on or as on a thread. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > arrange in (a) row(s) or line(s [verb (transitive)] > string together
enfile1393
file1581
string1612
thread1633
bead1883
1633 G. Herbert Sunday in Temple v The Sundaies of mans life, Thredded together on times string.
1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. J. F. Senault Man become Guilty Ep. Ded. If you will adde Charity enough..to pardon the faults escaped in the Presse, I shall thread it to the rest of my Obligations.
a1668 W. Davenant Wks. (1673) i. 321 Thy Teares to Thrid instead of Pearle, On Bracelets of thy Hair.
1706 F. Hauksbee in Philos. Trans. 1704–05 (Royal Soc.) 24 2166 Amber..beads, about the bigness of small Nutmegs, and Threaded.
1809 W. Scott Let. 14 Sept. (1932) II. 239 The sight of our beautiful Mountains and lakes..[has] sett me to threading verses together.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling vii. 233 Threading the bait upon the hook.
1874 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David IV. Ps. ciii. 3 He selects a few of the choicest pearls.., threads them on the string of memory.
1912 N.E.D. at Thread Mod. The girl was threading beads on a string of catgut.
b. To make or embellish with or as with things strung on or fastened together by a thread.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > ornament [verb (transitive)] > other specific ornament
horn1421
knob1549
enjewel1659
diadem1738
thread1796
bechalka1800
1796 M. Robinson Angelina I. 230 No blithesome groups, thridding the roseate wreath, Or tripping in fantastic measures by.
1877 S. Lanier Tampa Robins 11 I Will..thrid the heavenly orange-tree With orbits bright of minstrelsy.
3.
a. figurative. To run or pass like a continuous thread through the whole length or course of; to pervade.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > spreading or diffusion > [verb (transitive)] > spread over or through (something) > like veins or threads
vein1807
thread1830
skein1955
1830 Examiner 485/2 The melody which threads the first duet.
1858 Eclectic Rev. 6th Ser. III. 413 The burr of which [consonants]..thridding the open music of the vowel-sounds.
1871 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue vi. 259 One spirit and purpose threads the whole, and gives a sort of unity.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 13 Oct. 1/3 A haunting mystical vision that always threaded my slumbers.
b. intransitive for reflexive. To connect itself as by a thread.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > fact or action of being connected or connecting > be or become connected [verb (intransitive)] > as by a thread
threada1848
a1848 R. W. Hamilton Rewards & Punishm. (1853) ii. 78 It has been seen how thought can thrid with thought, and feeling flow into feeling.
4. † d. transitive. to thread the difference: to trace out or follow the narrow dividing line. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To make one's way through (a narrow place, a passage presenting difficulties or obstacles, a forest, a crowd, or the like); to pass skilfully through the intricacies or difficulties of. to thread out, to pick out and follow, to trace (a path).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > through or over obstacles > skilfully
thread1597
negotiate1862
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. v. 17 It is as hard to come, as for a Cammell To threed the posterne of a small needles eie. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 127 They would not thred the Gates. View more context for this quotation
a1625 J. Fletcher Bonduca iv. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hhhh3v/1 See where he thrids the thickets.
1633 G. Herbert Vanitie in Temple i The fleet Astronomer can bore, And thred the spheres with his quick-piercing Minde.
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle IV. cv. 157 A captain in the guards; who..had threaded every station in their community.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. i. vi. 60 I threaded all the windings of this new labyrinth.
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram III. iv. x. 82 Events thicken, and the maze is nearly thridden.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. i. 17 A labyrinth of narrow streets..rarely threaded by the stranger.
1866 D. Greenwell Ess. 219 A land intersected and thridden by the channels of benevolence.
b. to thread one's way, to thread one's course, etc. in same sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)] > through or over obstacles > with skill
thread1660
pick1716
to thread one's way1825
1825 S. T. Coleridge Aids Refl. 385 He..thrids his way through the odorous and flowering Thickets into open ‘Spots of Greenery’.
1868 E. Edwards Life Sir W. Ralegh I. x. 179 He..proceeded to thread his course amidst the tortuous..channels.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid ii, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 138 I..through foemen and flames, by the goddess's grace Thrid my way.
c. intransitive. = 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)] > through or over obstacles > with skill
thread1660
pick1716
to thread one's way1825
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 5 The other [stream]..threds through the middle of the Town.
1872 H. I. Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lake District 67 Bend to the left..and thread in an up-and-down course amongst the bare, rugged rocks.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona xi. 119 I..threaded through the midst of it [sc. the wood], and returned to the west selvage.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona xxii. 260 We thrid all the way among shoals.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > discriminate, distinguish [phrase]
to tell tother (or t'other) from whicha1325
can (or could) skillc1340
tella1425
to thread the difference1627
to cut (to) a thread (between)1647
to draw the line1766
1627 M. Wren Serm. 15 The Epidemiall prophanation of our times, that will thrid you a difference now betwixt this feare and perfect worship.
5. intransitive. To move in a thread-like course or manner; to flow in a slender stream; to creep, twine, wind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (intransitive)]
twinec1300
foldc1330
writhea1413
twind1575
spire1607
wreathe1776
coil1798
scroll1868
threada1879
1611 [implied in: R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Filet d'huyle, a small drop, or threading of oyle. (at threading n.)].
1626 [implied in: F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §293 We see in Liquors, the thredding of them in Stillicides. (at threading n.)].
a1879 T. Ormond in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets 2nd Ser. 356 Gracefully the ivy green Did round the craprods thread.
6.
a. transitive. To weave as a thread into the texture of something; to interweave.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > mix or blend [verb (transitive)] > intricately
interlacec1374
entermeenec1443
enterlade1545
weave1545
twist1574
interwork1603
interweave1612
context1628
involve1651
warp1803
thread1853
1853 D. Rock Church our Fathers III. ii. 25 These old ‘tropes’..used to be twined and threaded into the words of the daily service.
b. passive. To be penetrated, permeated, or interspersed as with threads.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > spreading or diffusion > [verb (intransitive)] > pervade > be pervaded
thread1861
1861 D. Greenwell Poems 215 The thrice refined gold Was thrid with baser clay.
1875 D. Greenwell Liber Human. 108 The elements which, mixed and threaded with whatever imaginable alloy, go to make up man's moral nature.
1891 I. Zangwill Bachelor's Club 21 His tawny hair, too, began to be threaded with silver.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > persuade (a person) [verb (transitive)] > persuade gradually
to lead ona1616
thread1709
1709 R. Wodrow Corr. (1842) I. 48 Our corruptions, and so our desolation for a season, are like to be threaded in gradually upon us.
1709 R. Wodrow Corr. (1842) I. 61 Provided we be not gradually threaded in to greater encroachments on the Church's rights this way.
1716 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 202 We are like to be threaded out of the exercise of our power as to fasts and thanksgivings by the Assembly.
8. To stretch threads across or over; to intersperse with threads so stretched.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > among other things
interpose1602
intersow1614
intersperse1647
chequer1677
commix1847
intersprinkle1848
thread1884
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of fruit > cultivate fruit [verb (transitive)] > other techniques
caprifyc1420
cross-hack1608
string1664
ring1881
thread1907
1884 Christian Commonw. 20 Mar. 536/2 The devil's long lines of temptation, with which the stream of life is so thickly threaded.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 25 Feb. 2/3 Heavy spraying..and threading [fruit-trees]..he has found to be a failure.
1912 N.E.D. at Thread Mod. I am obliged to thread my crocuses and polyanthuses every spring to protect them from destructive birds.
9. To form a screw-thread on; to furnish (a bolt or the like) with a screw-thread.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > fastening > fasten [verb (transitive)] > with screws > furnish with screw-thread
worm1605
tap1808
thread1858
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products 333/1 Threading is effected by a saw which [etc.].
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 2074/1 Screw-threading machine.
1889 P. N. Hasluck Model Engineer's Handybk. 46 The extreme end is threaded for a nut, as shown in the section of cylinder.
1893 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 40 801 A hole is bored in the neck and threaded, and the valve is screwed..in.
10.
a. To place the thread, film, or tape in its proper course in (a sewing machine, projector, etc.). Usually with up. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > through > cause to pass through > in its proper course > in proper course through
thread1873
1873 Young Englishwoman Mar. 150/1 Thread up the machine with the same coloured silk.
1913 F. A. Talbot Pract. Cinematogr. vii. 85 In threading up the camera it is only necessary to make sure that the image on the negative comes squarely and truly before the window in the gate.
1917 C. N. Bennett Guide Kinematogr. iv. 42 Threading the film.
1917 C. N. Bennett Guide Kinematogr. iv. 42 Immediately after threading, set the film footage indicator..to read zero.
1923 F. A. Talbot Moving Pictures 81 Threading the camera, as it is called, completed, the door of the exposed magazine is closed.
1932 L. E. Simpson & M. Weir Weaver's Craft x. 92 Threading the Loom.—It is still an advantage for two people to work together for this.
1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xxiv. 155 He threaded up the 16mm projector.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour v. 69/1 Your machine simply won't work if it isn't threaded exactly according to plan.
1970 A. Fowles Dupe Negative i. 8 It's [sc. the film's] just back from the lab. Take a couple of minutes to thread up.
b. To pass (film, etc.) through a projector, recorder, etc., so that it occupies the correct path; = lace v. 4e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > through > cause to pass through > in its proper course
thread1915
1915 J. B. Rathbun Motion Picture Making ii. 33 The loading of a motion picture camera is usually no more difficult than threading the film through a projector.
1932 L. E. Simpson & M. Weir Weaver's Craft xi. 115 Thread the new piece through the correct heddle and dent of the reed, then wrap the loose end round a pin in the woven fabric.
1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 168 Sam attempts to talk while he is threading the film.
1961 N.Y. Times 10 Sept. x. 15/3 The user has to thread the tape through the machine before starting, and rewind the tape after playing or recording.
1972 W. P. Blatty Exorcist (1974) iii. i. 279 The priest quickly set up the tape recorder; looked for an outlet; plugged it in; threaded tape.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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