unstitchv.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈstɪtʃ/, U.S. /ˌənˈstɪtʃ/ transitive. To remove stitches from; to detach or separate in this way.
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 > undo sewing
unsew1340
unstitch1538
unseam1592
unpick1775
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Resuo,..to vnstytche.
1639 T. de Gray Compl. Horseman ii. xviii. 331 Stop both your Horse eares..stitch them up, and..[later] unstitch them.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Ontnaeyt, vnsowne, or vnstitcht.
1688 R. L'Estrange tr. Cicero Offices (ed. 4) 79 As Wise men say of..Ill Grounded Friendships; 'tis better to unstich than to tear them all to pieces on a suddain.
a1774 O. Goldsmith tr. P. Scarron Comic Romance (1775) II. iii. 25 When he scuffled with any body,..he ever tore or unstitched the cloaths of his adversary.
1860 R. Hunt Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 5) I. 547 After washing, the pieces [of calico] are unstitched, and put in the hydro-extractor.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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