needle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈniː.dl̩/
rhymes: -iːdəl
Forms: form: needles
Etymology: From Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl, from Proto-West Germanic *nāþlu, from Proto-Germanic *nēþlō, from pre-Germanic *neh₁-tleh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”).
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Näddele (“sewing needle”), Dutch naald (“needle”), German Nadel (“needle, pin, crochet hook”), nähen (“sew”), Luxembourgish Nol (“needle”), Vilamovian nöłd (“needle”), Yiddish נאָדל (nodl, “needle, pin”), Danish, Swedish nål (“needle”), Elfdalian ną̊l (“needle”), Faroese, Icelandic nál (“needle”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk nål (“needle”), Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐌸𐌻𐌰 (nēþla, “sewing needle”), Finnish neula (“needle”). Further related with Welsh nyddu, Latin nēre, Sanskrit स्नायति (snāyati, “wraps up, winds”). Related to snood.
Senses: examples: text: The seamstress threaded the needle to sew on a button.
text: reusable needles
text: single-use needles
synonyms: word: neele
glosses: A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a blunt but otherwise similar implement used for forming loops or knots in crafts such as darning, knitting, tatting, etc.
glosses: Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.
examples: text: a compass needle
text: The needle on the fuel gauge pointed to empty.
text: "[…] On the 18th of October, 1841, a very intense magnetic disturbance was recorded, and amongst other curious facts mentioned is that of the detention of the 10:05pm express train at Exeter for 16 minutes, as from the magnetic disturbance affecting the needles so powerfully, it was impossible to ascertain if the line was clear at Starcross. The superintendent at Exeter reported the next morning that someone was playing tricks with the instruments, and would not let them work."
ref: 2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30:
glosses: A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph.
examples: text: Ziggy bought some diamond needles for his hi-fi phonograph.
glosses: A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus.
examples: text: At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth.
ref: 1994, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Hippopotamus:
glosses: A needle-like leaf found on some conifers.
glosses: A strong beam resting on props, used as a temporary support during building repairs.
qualifier: usually preceded by the
glosses: The death penalty carried out by lethal injection.
examples: text: Both of these functions will look through the haystack for the specified needle and, if they find it, will return the portion of the string from the beginning of the needle to the end of the haystack.
ref: 2010, Peter MacIntyre, PHP: The Good Parts, page 39:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
glosses: A text string that is searched for within another string. (see: needle in a haystack)
topics: biology
entomology
natural-sciences
glosses: Any of various species of damselfly of the genus Synlestes, endemic to Australia.
topics: gymnastics
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A move in which the performer begins with two hands and one leg on the floor, then kicks the other leg into a full split.
Hyponyms: bore needle
cable needle
circular needle
compass needle
darning needle
dining needle
dipping needle
double-pointed needle
fashioning needle
fissure needle
hypodermic needle
ice needle
intraosseous needle
knitting needle
larding needle
packing needle
pine needle
sewing needle
Derived terms: Adam's needle
bioneedle
budge the needle
Buffon's needle problem
camel through the eye of a needle
cop the needle
cryoneedle
devil's darning needle
devil's needle
dip of the needle
Eve's needle
fine-needle aspiration
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God
knight of the needle
larding-needle
microneedle
move the needle
multineedle
nanoneedle
needle-and-thread grass
needle aspiration biopsy
needle bar
needle beam
needle bearing
needle beer
needlebook
needle bush
needlebush
needlecase
needle-clawed bushbaby
needlecord
needlecraft
needle dick
needledom
needle drop
needle exchange
needlefelt
needlefish
needleful
needle furze
Needle Galaxy
needle girl
needle-girl
needlegrass
needle gun
needle holder
needle ice
needle in a haystack
needle-in-the-eye syndrome
needlelace
needle lace
needleleaf
needleless
needlelike
needle loom
needlemaker
needlemaking
needleman
needle match
needle mover
needle-mover
needlenose
needle-nose gar
needlenose pliers
needle ore
needle palm
needle park
needle phobia
needlepoint
needleproof
needlepunch
needler
needle scratch
needle-shaped
needle sharer
needle sharing
needle-sharp
needle shell
needle sickness
needle spar
needlestack
needlestick
needlestone
needlet
needletail
needle-tailed swift
needle telegraph
needle threader
needle time
needle trade
needletrade
needle valve
needlewise
needlewoman
needlewood
needlework
needle-work
needleworked
needleworking
needly
netting-needle
on pins and needles
on the needle
packing-needle
peg the needle
pins and needles
roweling-needle
sea needle
shepherd's needle
silver needle noodle
Spanish needles
stick a needle in my eye
thread needle
thread the needle
touch-needle
Related terms: acerate
acicular
eye
pin