Embroider
/ɪmˈbrɔɪdər/noun
To decorate fabric or other material with needle and thread.
Did you know?Embroider comes through Old French from a Germanic root meaning “border,” which is why the word originally pointed to stitching around an edge, not just making pretty patterns.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*bordō
“board, plank, edge, border”
Old French
OF
embroder
“to ornament with needlework; literally, to work along the border”
Middle English
ME
embrouden
“to embellish with needlework”
15th Century
English
embroider
“to decorate cloth with designs sewn in thread”
Modern English
English
embroider
“to decorate fabric or other material with needle and thread”