Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “þred” come from?

þred (Middle English) comes from Old English þrǣd, from Proto-Germanic þrēduz, from Proto-Indo-European treh₁-tu-, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- — to rub, turn; to drill, pierce.

Ancestry of “þred”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishþrǣd—
2Proto-Germanicþrēduzthread, twisted fibre
3Proto-Indo-Europeantreh₁-tu-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce

Words derived from “þred”

  • thread
  • threadbare
  • threadlike
  • thready
  • packthread
  • threadfin
  • threadworm
  • threader
  • multithread
  • unthread
  • threadless
  • rethread
  • goldthread
  • threadwork
  • threadsafe
  • interthread
  • threaden
  • threadbareness
  • threadiness
  • threadable
  • subthread
  • threadfish
  • protothread
  • unthreadable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →