Thread

Thread (0. Eng. praed, literally, that which is twisted, prawan, to twist, to throw, cf. "throwster," a silk-winder, Ger. drehen, to twist, turn, Du. draad, Ger. Draht, thread, wire), a thin or fine cord of two or more yarns of fibrous substance, such as cotton, silk, wool or flax, tightly twisted together (see Spinning and Cotton And Cotton Manufacture). Thread, whether as silk or cotton thread, is particularly used for sewing, but it is also used in weaving. Lisle thread, a hardtwisted linen thread, originally made at Lille in France, is specially used in the manufacture of stockings (see Hosiery). Apart from the figurative sense of that which runs through the course of a subject, narrative or speech, as a connecting thought, idea or purpose, the term is also applied specifically to the spiral part of a screw.