thread
English
Etymology
From Middle English threed, þred, from Old English þrǽd, ðrǽd, from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz, from Proto-Indo-European *treh₁-tu-, from *terh₁- (“rub, twist”). Near cognates include Dutch draad German Draht, Icelandic þráður and Norwegian, Danish and Swedish tråd. Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian dredh (“twist, turn”).
Pronunciation
Noun
thread (plural threads)
- A long, thin and flexible form of material, generally with a round cross-section, used in sewing, weaving or in the construction of string.
- A theme or idea.
- All of these essays have a common thread.
- I’ve lost the thread of what you’re saying.
- A screw thread.
- A sequence of connections.
- 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII
- I was pondering these things, when an incident, and a somewhat unexpected one, broke the thread of my musings.
- 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21
- "Let him go on. Do not interrupt him. He cannot go back, and maybe could not proceed at all if once he lost the thread of his thought."
- 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII
- The line midway between the banks of a stream.
- (computing) A unit of execution, lighter in weight than a process, generally expected to share memory and other resources with other threads executing concurrently.
- (Internet) A series of messages, generally grouped by subject, all but the first replies to previous messages in the thread.
Synonyms
- (theme): topic
Translations
long, thin and flexible form of material
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a theme or idea
a screw head
a sequence of connection
the line midway between the banks of a stream
(computingthread): a unit of execution
(Internetthread): a series of messages
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Derived terms
Derived terms
Verb
thread (third-person singular simple present threads, present participle threading, simple past threaded, (archaic) thrid, past participle threaded, (archaic) thridden)
- (transitive) To put thread through.
- thread a needle
- (transitive) To pass (through a narrow constriction or around a series of obstacles).
- I think I can thread my way through here, but it’s going to be tight.
Translations
put thread through
to pass
Derived terms
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