Etymology

needlewoman

N1E1E1D2L1E1W4O1M3A1N1

Today it means: A woman who works with a needle; a female embroiderer, sewer, etc. Full definition →

English woman ← Middle English womman ← Old English wīfmann
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)neh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)néh₁tlom
  3. Proto-Germanic*nēþlą
  4. Proto-Germanic*nēþlō
  5. Proto-West Germanic*nāþlu
  6. Old Englishnǣdl
  7. Middle Englishnedle
  8. Englishneedle
  9. Proto-Germanic*wībą
  10. Proto-West Germanic*wīb
  11. Old Englishwīf
  12. Proto-Indo-European*mon-
  13. Proto-Germanic*mann-
  14. Proto-West Germanic*mann
  15. Old Englishmann
  16. Old Englishwīfmann
  17. Middle Englishwomman
  18. Englishwoman
  19. English todayneedlewoman

From needle + woman.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.