Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “needles” come from?

Needles derives from Middle English -s, Proto-Germanic nēþlō, and Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₁-, ultimately from a root meaning to sew or spin.

needles (English): plural of needle; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of needle; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “needles”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-sUsed to form regular plurals of nouns; Used to...
2Middle English-esAlternative form of -yssh; Alternative form of...
3Old English-espossessive marker, indicating that an object...
4Proto-Germanic-as—
5Proto-Indo-European-ēsPrimarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds
6Proto-Indo-European-ess—
7Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →