sewing
[soh-ing]
Origin of sewing
sew1
[soh]
- to join or attach by stitches.
- to make, repair, etc., (a garment) by such means.
- to enclose or secure with stitches: to sew flour in a bag.
- to close (a hole, wound, etc.) by means of stitches (usually followed by up).
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- to work with a needle and thread or with a sewing machine.
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- sew up,
- Informal.to get or have a monopoly of; control exclusively.
- Informal.to complete or conclude (arrangements, negotiations, etc.) successfully: They were about to sew up the deal when the argument started.
- to gain or be assured of: He tried to sew up as many votes as possible before the convention.
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Origin of sew1
sew2
[soo]Nautical
- to ground (a vessel) at low tide (sometimes fol by up).
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- (of a vessel) to be grounded at low tide.
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- the amount of additional water necessary to float a grounded vessel.
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Origin of sew2
1505–15; < Middle French sewer, aphetic variant of essewer < Vulgar Latin *exaquāre, equivalent to Latin ex- ex-1 + aqu(a) water + -āre infinitive suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sewing
Contemporary Examples
Like drawing tattoos, sewing earmuffs, or fashioning model airplanes from old chip bags?
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’Michael Howard
January 6, 2015
Her daughter, Elaina, 24, a trained costume designer and makeup artist, helps out by sewing clothes.
Today all of “these girls are living their lives in dignity, using needles and sewing machines,” said Sister Rosemary.
Such products are not suited for the rigours of public life, and need to be adapted, at the very least by sewing in hem weights.
Before you knew it, I had a needle in my hand and was making patterns and sewing.
Historical Examples
She had taken her sewing again, and she bent her head over it as if she were ashamed.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
Why, I don't earn that amount of money by six months' sewing.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
For her mother, sewing and cooking had been accomplishments; for her they were work.
Southern Lights and ShadowsVarious
While he talked she would sit with her sewing, now and then putting in a question to help.
The HarborErnest Poole
Women with peaceful faces could be seen bent over their sewing.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
sewing
- a piece of cloth, etc, that is sewn or to be sewn
- (as modifier)sewing basket
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sew
- to join or decorate (pieces of fabric, etc) by means of a thread repeatedly passed through with a needle or similar implement
- (tr; often foll by on or up) to attach, fasten, or close by sewing
- (tr) to make (a garment, etc) by sewing
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See also sew up
Word Origin
Old English sēowan; related to Old Norse sӯja, Gothic siujan, Old High German siuwen, Latin suere to sew, Sanskrit sīvjati he sews
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sewing
n.
late 13c., "action of sewing;" c.1400, "sewn work," verbal noun from sew (v.). Sewing machine is attested from 1847.
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sew
v.
Old English siwian "to stitch, sew, mend, patch, knit together," earlier siowian, from Proto-Germanic *siwjanan (cf. Old Norse syja, Swedish sy, Danish sye, Old Frisian sia, Old High German siuwan, Gothic siujan "to sew"), from PIE root *syu- "to bind, sew" (cf. Sanskrit sivyati "sews," sutram "thread, string;" Greek hymen "thin skin, membrane," hymnos "song;" Latin suere "to sew, sew together;" Old Church Slavonic šijo "to sew," šivu "seam;" Lettish siuviu, siuti "to sew," siuvikis "tailor;" Russian švec "tailor"). Related: Sewed; sewing. To sew (something) up "bring it to a conclusion" is a figurative use attested by 1904.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper