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thimblelike

 - 2 dictionary results

thim⋅ble

  [thim-buhl]
Use thimblelike in a Sentence
–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).
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. 2009.
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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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