“needles” is a form of
needle
/ˈniː.dəl/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms needles needling needled Needell
- noun 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. “The seamstress threaded the needle to sew on a button.”
- noun Any slender, pointed object resembling a needle, such as a pointed crystal, a sharp pinnacle of rock, an obelisk, etc.
- noun A fine measurement indicator on a dial or graph. “a compass needle”
- noun (informal) A sensor for playing phonograph records, a phonograph stylus. “Ziggy bought some diamond needles for his hi-fi phonograph.”
- noun A needle-like leaf found on some conifers.
- noun A strong beam resting on props, used as a temporary support during building repairs.
- noun (informal, usually preceded by the) The death penalty carried out by lethal injection.
- noun (programming) A text string that is searched for within another string. (see: needle in a haystack)
- verb To pierce with a needle, especially for sewing or acupuncture.
- verb (transitive) To tease in order to provoke; to poke fun at. “Billy needled his sister incessantly about her pimples.”
- verb (ambitransitive) To form, or be formed, in the shape of a needle. “to needle crystals”
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
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”).
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.
* As an English surname, from the noun needle. Compare Nadler.
* As a Jewish surname, translation of the surname Nadel, itself meaning needle.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A small instrument of steel, sharply pointed at one end, with an eye to receive a thread, --used in sewing. Chaucer.
- noun See Magnetic needle, under Magnetic.
- verb To form in the shape of a needle; as, to needle crystals.
- verb To form needles; to crystallize in the form of needles.
Etymology [OE. nedle, AS. n; akin to D. neald, OS. nadla, G. nadel, OHG. nadal, nadala, Icel. nal, Sw. nål, Dan. naal, and also to G. nähen to sew, OHG. najan, L. nere to spin, Gr. snare: cf. Gael. & Ir. snathad needle, Gael. snath thread, G. schnur string, cord.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “needle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details