needle
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: biology
computing
engineering
entomology
gymnastics
hobbies
lifestyle
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
sports
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr
Proto-Indo-European *-trom
Proto-Indo-European *-tlom
Proto-Indo-European *(s)néh₁tlom
Proto-Germanic *nēþlą
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Germanic *-ō
Proto-Germanic *nēþlō
Proto-West Germanic *nāþlu
Old English nǣdl
Middle English nedle
English needle
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, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish nål (“needle”), Elfdalian ną̊l (“needle”), Faroese, Icelandic nál (“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.
Inflected forms:
form: needles
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: needles
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: needling
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: needled
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: needled
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
examples: The seamstress threaded the needle to sew on a button.
reusable needles
single-use needles
gloss: Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.
pos: noun
gloss: A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph.
pos: noun
examples: a compass needle
The needle on the fuel gauge pointed to empty.
"[…] 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."
gloss: A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus.
pos: noun
tags: informal
examples: Ziggy bought some diamond needles for his hi-fi phonograph.
gloss: A needle-like leaf found on some conifers.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: A strong beam resting on props, used as a temporary support during building repairs.
pos: noun
gloss: The death penalty carried out by lethal injection.
pos: noun
tags: informal
gloss: A text string that is searched for within another string. (see: needle in a haystack)
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: Any of various species of damselfly of the genus Synlestes, endemic to Australia.
pos: noun
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
gloss: To pierce with a needle, especially for sewing or acupuncture.
pos: verb
examples: […]the eyes were once more beginning to show the old nystagmus; so I decided to needle the cataracts, and on Jan. 31 I needled the right eye.
Possibly the greatest effect is achieved in the hand by needling the thumb, the index finger and the region of the 1st and 2nd metacarpal.
gloss: To tease in order to provoke; to poke fun at.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Billy needled his sister incessantly about her pimples.
FRED: Well, I teased her to some extent, or I needled her, not teased her. I needled her about—first I said that she didn't want to work, and then I think that there were a couple of comments.
To needle Lady Leviathan, Hel has convinced her husband to agree to the heartful offer.
Significantly, similar language was used by Sullivan, who had been needled by a question from a Ukrainian activist who suggested the US was “afraid of Ukraine winning”.
gloss: To form, or be formed, in the shape of a needle.
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
examples: to needle crystals
Related words: acerate
acicular
eye
pin
Derived words: Adam's needle
bioneedle
budge the needle
Buffon's needle problem
butterfly needle
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
needle lace
needlelace
needleleaf
needleless
needlelike
needle loom
needlemaker
needlemaking
needleman
needle match
needle-mover
needle mover
needle-moving
needlenose
needle-nose gar
needlenose pliers
needle ore
needle palm
needle park
needle phobia
needlepoint
needleproof
needlepunch
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 talk
needle telegraph
needle threader
needle time
needle tower
needletrade
needle trade
needle valve
needle wire
needlewise
needlewoman
needlewood
needle-work
needlework
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
needler
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: gjilpërë
lang: Albanian
word: akrep
lang: Armenian
word: սլաք
roman: slakʻ
lang: Azerbaijani
word: ibrə
lang: Belarusian
word: стрэ́лка
roman: strélka
lang: Bulgarian
word: стрелка́
roman: strelká
lang: Catalan
word: agulla
lang: Czech
word: jehla
lang: Danish
word: nål
lang: Dutch
word: naald
lang: Esperanto
word: montrilo
lang: Esperanto
word: nadlo
lang: Finnish
word: neula
lang: French
word: aiguille
lang: Saterland Frisian
word: Näddele
lang: West-Frisian
word: nuddel
lang: German
word: Nadel
lang: Old High German
word: nādala
lang: Greek
word: βελόνα
roman: velóna
lang: Hebrew
word: מַחַט
roman: mákhat
lang: Hindi
word: सुई
roman: suī
lang: Hungarian
word: tű
lang: Hungarian
word: mutató
lang: Icelandic
word: nál
lang: Irish
word: snáthaid
lang: Italian
word: lancetta
lang: Latvian
word: adata
lang: Macedonian
word: сказалка
roman: skazalka
lang: Macedonian
word: стрелка
roman: strelka
lang: Macedonian
word: показалка
roman: pokazalka
lang: Occitan
word: agulha
lang: Polish
word: wskazówka
lang: Portuguese
word: agulha
lang: Portuguese
word: ponteiro
lang: Romanian
word: ac
lang: Russian
word: стре́лка
roman: strélka
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ѝгла
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ка̀за̄љка
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ìgla
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: kàzāljka
lang: Slovak
word: ručička
lang: Slovene
word: igla
lang: Lower Sorbian
word: wubijak
lang: Spanish
word: saeta
lang: Spanish
word: saetilla
lang: Spanish
word: aguja
lang: Swahili
word: sindano
lang: Swedish
word: nål
lang: Swedish
word: visare
lang: Turkish
word: ibre
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: ابره
roman: ibre
lang: Ukrainian
word: стрі́лка
roman: strílka