nettle

C2 Topic:Plants & Agriculture

US /ˈnɛtəl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like natal /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #38574

Meanings

1

noun
a plant with tiny hairs that sting or irritate the skin

The child brushed against a nettle beside the path.
2

verb
to annoy or irritate someone

The accusation nettled him more than he admitted.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a plant with tiny hairs... urtica

2 verb · to annoy or irritate someone irritate annoy

More sting

Word family

Derived forms nettlesnettlednettlingnettlesome

Related forms nettlesomenettledplant

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

nettle rash
an itchy rash of raised patches, also called hives

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English netle, from Old English netle or netele.

netle Old English *natilā Proto-West Germanic *natǭ Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Plants & Agriculture

External links

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