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thimble

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thim⋅ble

  [thim-buhl]
–noun
1. a small cap, usually of metal, worn over the fingertip to protect it when pushing a needle through cloth in sewing.
2. Mechanics. any of various similar devices or attachments.
3. Nautical. a metal ring with a concave groove on the outside, used to line the outside of a ring of rope forming an eye.
4. a sleeve of sheet metal passing through the wall of a chimney, for holding the end of a stovepipe or the like.
5. a thimble-shaped printing element with raised characters on the exterior: used in a type of electronic typewriter or computer printer (thimble printer).
Use thimble in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME thym(b)yl, OE thȳmel; akin to ON thumall thumb of a glove. See thumb, -le

Related forms:
thim⋅ble⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Sewing Thimbles
Selection, Convenience, Low Prices & 40% off the Price of One Item!
www.Joann.com
thim·ble   (thĭm'bəl)   
n.  

  1. A hard pitted cup worn for protection on the finger that pushes the needle in sewing.

  2. Any of various tubular sockets or sleeves in machinery.

  3. Nautical

    1. A metal ring fitted in an eye of a sail to prevent chafing.

    2. A metal ring around which a rope splice is passed.


[Middle English thimbil, alteration of Old English thȳmel, leather finger covering, from thūma, thumb; see teuə- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

thimble 
O.E. þymel "sheath or covering for the thumb," from thuma (see thumb) + -el, suffix used in forming names of instruments (cf. handle). Excrescent -b- began c.1440 (cf. humble, nimble). Originally of leather, metal ones came into use 17c. Thimblerig, con game played with three thimbles and a pea or button, is attested from 1825 by this name, though references to thimble cheats, probably the same swindle, date back to 1716.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

thimble

small, bell-shaped implement designed to protect the end of the finger when sewing. Among the earliest known thimbles, dating from before AD 79, were those made of bronze and found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Modern thimbles are almost exclusively produced in plastic or soft metals. Purely decorative thimbles are produced in an endless variety of materials and forms as collectibles.

Learn more about thimble with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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