Nettle
/ˈnɛt.əl/noun
A plant with stinging hairs, or the act of irritating or vexing someone.
Did you know?The plant’s name is ancient, but its verb sense—“to irritate or provoke”—shows how English turned a stinging weed into a psychological weapon of language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*natilō
“stinging plant or nettle”
Old English
OE
netele
“nettle, the stinging plant”
Middle English
ME
netle
“nettle”
14th Century
English
nettle
“the stinging plant; later, to irritate or vex”
Modern English
English
nettle
“a stinging plant; to irritate or annoy”
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