Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

rope yarn

 - 3 dictionary results

rope yarn

–noun
See under yarn (def. 3).

Origin:
1615–25

yarn

[yahrn]
–noun
1. thread made of natural or synthetic fibers and used for knitting and weaving.
2. a continuous strand or thread made from glass, metal, plastic, etc.
3. the thread, in the form of a loosely twisted aggregate of fibers, as of hemp, of which rope is made (rope yarn).
4. a tale, esp. a long story of adventure or incredible happenings: He spun a yarn that outdid any I had ever heard.
–verb (used without object)
5. Informal. to spin a yarn; tell stories.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE gearn; c. G Garn; akin to ON gǫrn gut, Gk chord intestine, chord 1 , Lith žarnà entrails, L hernia a rupture, Skt hirā vein
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rope yarn
Word Origin & History

yarn 
O.E. gearn "spun fiber," from P.Gmc. *garnan (cf. O.N., O.H.G., Ger. garn, M.Du. gaern, Du. garen "yarn"), from PIE base *gher- "intestine" (cf. O.N. gorn "gut," Skt. hira "vein," Gk. khorde "intestine, gut-string," Lith. zarna "gut"). The phrase to spin a yarn "to tell a story" is first attested 1812, from a sailors' expression, on notion of telling stories while engaged in sedentary work like yarn-twisting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see rope yarn on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: