yarn

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible.

   Spin a yarn.

2. 2
   verb

   To tell a story or stories, especially one that is lengthy or unlikely to be true.

   "He yarns good," said Tom Platt. "T'other night he told us abaout a kid of his own size steerin' a cunnin' little rig an' four ponies up an' down Toledo, Ohio, I think 'twas, an' givin' suppers to a crowd o' sim'lar kids. Cur'us kind o' fairy-tale, but blame interestin'. He knows scores of 'em.".

3. 3
   noun

   a fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving

4. 4
   noun

   the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events

From Middle English yarne, ȝern, yarn, from the Old English ġearn (“yarn, spun wool”), from Proto-West Germanic *garn, from Proto-Germanic *garną (“yarn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰorn-, *ǵʰerH- (“tharm, guts, intestines”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian jern, Dutch garen (“yarn”), German Garn (“yarn”), Danish garn, Swedish garn (“yarn, thread”), Icelandic garn (“yarn”), Latin hernia (“rupture”), Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string”), Sanskrit हिर (hira, “band”). Compare also the obsolete doublet garn.

Topics