▪ I. stitch, n.1
(stɪtʃ)
Forms: 1 stice, 3–6 stiche, 4–6 stych(e, 5 steche, 5–6 stytche, 6–8 stich, 6–7 stitche, 6– stitch. See also steek n.
[OE. stice str. masc., corresp. to OFris. steke prick, stab, OS. stiki (Gallée), point, thrust (MLG. steke), OHG. stih (MHG., mod.G. stich) prick, sting, stab, stitch (Da. stik, Sw. stick, stab, stitch, prob. from LG.), Goth. stik-s point of time:—OTeut. *stiki-z, f. *stik- root of stick v.]
I. A thrust, stab.
† 1. A prick, puncture, or stab, inflicted by a pointed implement. Only OE.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxvi. 261 Se ðe us ᵹehæleð from ðæm stice urra synna [a peccatorum nos punctionibus salvans]. c 1000 Ags. Laws æthelb. lxvii, Ᵹif man þeoh ðurhstingþ, stice ᵹ ehwilce. vi. scillingas. |
2. a. A sharp sudden local pain, like that produced by the thrust of a pointed weapon; esp. (now only) an acute spasmodic pain in the intercostal muscles, called more fully a stitch in the side. Also in generalized or collective sense.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 174 Wið miltewærce & stice. a 1225 Ancr. R. 282 Al so, on eðelich stiche oðer on eðelich eche makeð uorte understonden hwu lutel wurð is prude. c 1230 Hali Meid. 35 Stiches i þi lonke. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 475/1 Styche, peyne on þe syde, telum. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxviii. 110 The gowte or the poplesie, the stytches or the paralesye. a 1500 Brut 604 Aftyr þat, ther fylle a gret dissese in Engelond callyd þe styche, þat moche peeple deyde sodeynly þerof. 1533 Elyot Cast. Helth (1541) 83 b, Stytches and grefes in the sides. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 20 If a man hath a stiche about the hart. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 73 If you desire the spleene, and will laughe your selues into stitches, follow me. 1683 Ashmole Diary (1774) 366 A stitch took me at the setting on of my left hip. 1713 Phil. Trans. XXVIII. 122 Pains and Stitches behind the Ears. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xxvii, The third [patient] complained of a pleuritic stitch. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xxiv, I had a painful stitch in my side, which never left me. 1898 P. Manson Trop. Diseases xxiii. 354 Fuller inspiration is attended with stitch. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 198 The agonising stitch of pleurisy. |
† b. fig.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 110 In his seli soule..he hefde þe stiche of sori & seoruhful pine. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 182 Thinking now that hee should be cured of those priuie Stitches which hee had long had about his Heart. 1661 Burney κέρδ. Δῶρον 128 The King hates bribes... These are stitches to the Prince's sides. |
¶ c. A stiff and affected carriage of the body has sometimes been jocularly compared to the effect of a stitch in the side.
| 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iii. iv. (1601) F 2 b, One that..Salutes a friend, as if he had a stitch. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. ix, Mrs. Wilfer, majestically faint, and with a condescending stitch in her side: which was her company manner. |
d. pl. Fits of laughter; esp. in phr. (to have, etc., someone) in stitches. Occas. sing. = laugh n. 4 b. (See also sense 2 a, quot. 1601.)
| 1935 Motion Picture Nov. 41/1 A laugh festival that will have you in stitches from its opening scene to its ridiculous but uproarious climax. 1952 E. O'Neill Moon for Misbegotten i. 65 Listen to Jim still in stitches. It's good to hear him laugh as if he meant it. 1968 A. Diment Great Spy Race ii. 18 The party's in a house right opposite. It'll be a stitch, Phil. You must come. 1969 O. Blakeston For crying out Shroud vi. 56 I've got some new gear that will give you stitches. 1981 D. M. Thomas White Hotel iv. i. 139 She had them in stitches with her absurd—but true—anecdotes. 1983 Listener 20 Jan. 38/4 The sardonic puppets, C4s, had my anglophone family in stitches. |
† 3. transf. A contortion of the face, a grimace.
| 1619 Fletcher M. Thomas ii. ii. (1639) D 3, Leave your stiches. a 1625 ― Captain ii. ii, If you talke Or pull your face into a stich againe. |
† 4. fig. A grudge, dislike, spite, ground of complaint. Chiefly in phr. to have or take a stitch against (rarely at) (a person). Obs.
| a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1594) 224 Therefore his Maiestie hath a stitch against her, as Salomon had to Shimei. 1625 Bp. R. Montagu App. Cæsar 121 Their whole stitch is against the Church Representative in a Generall Councell. a 1639 W. Whately Prototypes ii. xxx. (1640) 100 We sometimes take such a stitch and spleene against those whom nature hath tyed to us. 1652 Heylyn Cosmogr. Introd. 19 The Princes of Italy, and the Florentines, have a stich at Venice. 1679 Alsop Melius Inq. i. i. 94 Against these persons the Enquirer has a desperate stitch. |
II. A movement in sewing or the like.
5. a. Each of the movements of a threaded needle in and out of a fabric which is being sewn. Also, the like movement with the awl in shoemaking.
| c 1290 St. Mark 12 in S. Eng. Leg. 362 Þe soutare atþe furste stiche fuel vuele is hond he piȝte. a 1542 Wyatt Poems, ‘Who hath heard’, She..wisshed eche stitche as she did sit & soo had prykt my hert. 1562–75 Gammer Gurton Prol. 1 As Gammer Gurton, with manye a wyde styche, Sat pesynge and patching of Hodg her mans briche. 1594 Lyly Mother Bombie i. iii, Euery stitch in her sampler is a pricking stitch at my heart. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 92 In the merchant-service it is common to stick the seams with two rows of stitches, when the sail is half worn. 1840 Thackeray Shabby-genteel Story v, She had not gone through many pages, or Becky advanced many stitches in the darning of that table-cloth. 1875 Plain Needlework 14 This causes the needle to go in slanting, and so making one half of the stitch wider than the other half. 1878 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 162/1 Probabilities forbid us from believing that Matilda and her waiting maids ever did a stitch on this canvas. |
| Prov. 1793 Friendly Addr. Poor 14 A stitch in time may save nine. 1855 Bohn Handbk. Prov. 301 A stitch in time saves nine. |
b. The portion or loop of thread or yarn left in the fabric as a result of this movement, and forming (usually in a series) the material by which the parts of the sewn fabric are held together.
| 1394 P. Pl. Crede 553 Þei ben y-sewed wiþ whiȝt silk & semes full queynte, Y-stongen wiþ stiches þat stareþ as siluer. 1399 On K. Richard's Ministers in Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 363 Hit is so roton on ych a side, Ther nul no stych with odur abyde, to set theron a clout. a 1529 Skelton P. Sparowe 212, I toke my sampler..To sowe with stytchis of sylke My sparow whyte as mylke. 1662 Dryden Wild Gallant i. i, The Stitches of thy Doublet are so far asunder, that it seems to hang together by the Teeth. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ., Temptation, A stitch or two had broke out in the gathers of my stock. 1821 Dibdin Bibliogr. Tour I. 379 (Bayeux Tapestry) The stitches, if they may be so called, are threads laid side by side—and bound down at intervals by cross stitches, or fastenings—upon rather a fine linen cloth. 1844 Newton's Lond. Jrnl. Conj. Ser. XXV. 247 When the stitch which fastens on the outer sole is passed through the strip of leather, it draws the strip over the stitches that unite the upper leather to the inner sole, thus concealing them. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 831/1 They [the soles] are stitched to the welt, about twelve stitches of strong waxed thread being made to the inch. |
| fig. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. xxi. §3 If in the mean time one of them did not pull out their il-wrought stiches of vnkindnes. 1593 Nashe Four Lett. Conf. (end), Finally, Printers haue many false stiches, which are thus to bee drawen vp. |
c. In machine sewing, a single motion of a needle and shuttle carrying the thread through the fabric; or the loop or interlocked thread thus produced.
| 1844 Newton's Lond. Jrnl. Conj. Ser. XXV. 305 When the work has passed through the machine, it will be found that a running stitch has been produced. 1883 S. Chappel Sewing Machine 23 The machine will now gather the work, and the longer stitch you have on the fuller the gathering will be. |
d. Phr. stitch by stitch: used to describe strong and careful sewing in which one stitch is performed at a time (as distinct from ‘running’); also fig.
| 1566 T. Stapleton Ret. Untr. Jewel Pref. ****2 b, But for one man to answer the whole, and that stitche by stitche (as the Replier requireth) bothe the time woulde be so longe, that many a soule in the meane might perish,..and also the booke woulde be so greate that [etc.]. Ibid. iv. 195 b, M. Iewelles whole Replie in these matters hath bene at longe and stitche by stitche confuted. 1880 [Mrs. L. S. Floyer] Plain Hints Exam. Needlew. 107 The slow stitch-by-stitch movement [run]..in good plain work. |
e. In emphatic phrases with a negative or the like: A single movement with the needle; fig. a ‘stroke’ of work of any kind.
| 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 116 b, The other would not worke a stitch, but goeth loytering up and downe all daie long. 1623 Middleton More Dissemblers i. iv, I must either have the Song..or I'll not do a stitch of service for you from one weeks end to the other. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 648 If men knew what was just enough to carry them to heaven, they would not do a stitch more than absolutely necessary. Ibid. II. 528 The shoe-maker earns enough in four days to maintain him the whole week, so he never will do a stitch of work before Wednesday morning. |
6. Surgery. The movement of the needle through the edges of a wound when it is being sewn up; each loop of thread or other material fastened in the skin or flesh as a result of the operation.
royal stitch: see royal a. 15. † dry stitch (= mod.L. sutura sicca): an appliance of sticking plaster serving the purpose of a suture.
| 1525 tr. Brunswyke's Handywork Surg. xiii. C iij, Ye shall set the fyrst stiche in y⊇ myddis of the woundys lyppys, the other a fynger brode betwene euery .ii. stiches. 1674 tr. G. Fabritius (Hildanus) Cista Milit. 32 In wounds of the face I never use Needle, but that which is called the dry stitch. 1749 Gataker tr. Le Dran's Oper. Surg. 35 If the wound has one or more hanging lips of an irregular figure, the first stitch must be made at the angle of each lip. 1894 Lancet 3 Nov. 1028/2 The serous surfaces were apposed by several Lembert's stitches. 1908 Animal Managem. (Vet. Departm., War Office) 327 Stitches should be..not drawn so taut as to cause any tension on the skin. |
7. A single complete movement of the needle or other implement used in knitting, netting, crochet, embroidery, lace-making, etc.; the portion of the work produced by such a movement. Phr. to let down, drop, take up a stitch.
| 1599 Minsheu Sp. Dict., Dial. 2 Looke well if the stockings haue any stitches broken in them. 1620 Shelton 2nd Pt. Quixote xliv. 288 As he pulled off his stockings, there broke from him..some foure and twenty stitches and a halfe, that made his stocking looke like a Lettice-window. 1773 Johnson (ed. 4), Stitch,..a link of yarn in knitting. 1818 Mrs. Sherwood Fairchild Family i. xxiv. (1829) 257 She had been knitting,..but she dropped several stitches. 1844 C. Mee Comp. Work-table 25 Knit 15 stitches plain. 1844 Mrs. H. Owen Ladies' Bk. Needlework (ed. 2) 2 Netting... The stitch is formed by taking the mesh in your left hand, [etc.]. 1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 299/1 The stocking⁓frame,..which mechanically produces the looped stitch. |
| fig. 1837 F. D. Maurice Let. Feb. in F. Maurice F. D. Maurice (1884) I. xiv. 224, I consider..whether we ought to take up our stitches (not intentionally dropped) at the age of twenty-four [i.e. go to a university]. 1862 Sat. Rev. 8 Feb. 148 When a dropped stitch is taken up in the personal biography of one who..has influenced the religious life of millions, it is [etc.]. 1881 Times 16 July 11/2 The Committee..will be enabled to take up the stitches dropped in the process [of examining the bill]. |
8. Bookbinding. A fastening of leaves, esp. those of pamphlets, with thread or wire drawn through a hole previously pierced. Cf. stitch v. 5.
| 1835 J. Hannett Bibliopegia ii. (1865) 224 The third sheet having only one stitch. |
9. A particular mode of using the needle or other implement, in sewing, knitting, embroidery, etc.; the kind or style of work thus produced.
See also back-, chain-, cross-, feather-, hem-, whip-stitch; brede n.3 4, button-hole n. 4, coral n.1 9, damask n. 10, dot n.1 8, Flemish a. 3, German a.2 4, Gobelin 1, herring-bone n. 2 a, honey-comb n. 6, Irish a. 2 c, lock n.2 20, queen n. 14, ribbed ppl. a. 2 b, rope n.1 9, Russian a. 2 d, satin n. 9 a, spider n. 11, stem n.1 9, etc. For true-stitch (lit. and fig.) see true a. D. 1 c.
| 1624 in Archæologia XLVIII. 144 A long cushion of Irish stitch. 1640 J. Taylor (Water P.) Prayse of Needle A 2, Fine Ferne-stitch, Finny-stitch, New-stitch, and Chain-stitch, Braue Bred-stitch, Fisher-stitch, Irish-stitch, and Queen-stitch, The Spanish-stitch, Rosemary-stitch, and Mowse-stitch. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 259 He also represents in a most exquisite manner, both the Irish and Bredth stitch in Carpets and Screens. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 13 ¶7 When she is engaged in teaching them a new stitch. 1856 Mrs. Pullan Lady's Dict. Needlework. 1890 S. J. Duncan Social Depart. 121 Upstairs there were no trivialities in Kensington stitch, or any other stitch. |
| fig. 1565 T. Stapleton Fortr. Faith i. vii. 37 b, I will with an other stitche worke this matter againe. |
10. A loop of thread or yarn as an ultimate constituent of a sewn or woven fabric; hence, any the least piece of fabric or clothing. every stitch, all the clothes one is wearing; every available piece (of sail); occas. every part (of a structure); every ‘inch’ (of a person).
| ? a 1500 Chester Pl. iii. 75, I will goe to gather sliche, the ship for to cleane and piche; anoynted yt must be every stich, board, tree, and pyn. 1817 Byron Beppo iv, You'd better walk about begirt with briars, Instead of coat and smallclothes, than put on A single stitch reflecting upon friars. 1837 Disraeli Venetia vi. x, A boat,..with every stitch of canvas set. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. (1858) 16 The master..gave instant orders to lighten every stitch of sail. 1883 Cleland Inchbracken xi. 88 Ducking me in burns till I haven't a dry stitch on my back! 1885 Marq. Dufferin in Lyall Life (1905) II. 74 A mass of human beings with scarcely a stitch on their bodies. |
11. a good stitch: a considerable distance (in walking). dial.
| 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 148 You have gone a good stitch, you may well be a weary; sit down. 1901 F. E. Taylor Folk-Speech S. Lancs. (E.D.D.), He's come a lung stitch. |
12. jocular. A tailor. Also man of stitches.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Stitch, a Tayler. 1809 T. Donaldson Poems 32 Had ye but tauk'd about the yarn, The needle, or the clout, Then Stitch an' I had try'd to learn To gien ye word about. c 1848 J. Keegan Leg. & Poems (1907) 466 There being no other rival ‘stitch’ in the neighbourhood, Dandy thought he might..‘set up’ in his defunct master's place. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. v. 91 He called his man of stitches, The tailor came straightway. |
III. 13. Comb., as stitch-hole; stitch-like adj.; stitch-bird, Pogonornis cincta of New Zealand, the clicking note of which has a fancied resemblance to the word ‘stitch’; † stitch-broth, some kind of mulled beverage (? for curing stitches); † stitch-dropped a., said of knitted work in which one or more stitches have been dropped; similarly † stitch-fallen (in quot. fig.); stitch-man, a workman employed in stitching (now esp. shoes); stitch welding, a form of spot welding in which a series of overlapping spot welds is produced by a machine which makes each weld and advances the work automatically; hence (as back-formation) stitch weld n. and v. trans.; stitch-welded ppl. a.; stitch welder, a machine that performs stitch welding; stitch-wheel, a toothed wheel used for marking equidistant holes for stitching leather; = pricker 4 b (g); stitch-while, in phr. every stitch-while, every moment, at brief intervals (now dial.); stitch-work, embroidery, tapestry.
| 1873 W. L. Buller Birds New Zeal. 98 Pogonornis cincta. (*Stitch-bird.) |
| 1635 Heywood Philocoth. 48 We have moreover..*Stitch-broth brew'd with rose-water and Sugar, Burn'd Sacke, Burn'd Wine, Muld-Wine. |
| 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 631/1 The *stitch-dropped stocking. |
| 1693 Dryden Juvenal x. 309 A *stitch-fal'n Cheek, that hangs below the Jaw. |
| 1898 J. T. Fowler in Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 114 A small membrane with *stitch-holes at the foot. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 162 *Stitch-like pains in the right side of the chest. |
| 1710 in Jrnl. Brit. Archæol. Assoc. (1868) XXIV. 331 *Stitch⁓men. [The name given to the association of tailors, mercers, drapers, cappers, hatters, glovers, and skinners of Ludlow.] 1844 Mechanics' Mag. XL. 42 (Shoemaking) The English workman, who, as a stitchman, is far superior to the French. 1894 Daily News 22 Sept. 6/7 The defendant was..a stitch⁓man, of Northampton. |
| 1951 Trans. Inst. Welding June 90/1 A seam weld is considered better than a *stitch weld, because of its more regular formation. 1958 Times Rev. Industry July 26/2 The components [of the gas turbine] are stitch-welded around the circumference. 1961 J. A. Oakes Welding Engineer's Handbk. xxiii. 243 (caption) Set-up for stitch welding a steel door. 1972 Automobile Engineer Jan. 12/1 The fuel tanks are stitch-welded to the sides of the chassis. |
| 1934 Welding Industry Dec. 348/1 A development which is the logical consequence of the attempt to speed up the spot welding process is the so-called continuous spot or *stitch welder. 1946 Philips Resistance Welding Handbk. i. 18 Stitch welders, which have been described as the sewing machines of the resistance welding industry, are either pneumatically or mechanically driven to produce a very large number of spots in rapid succession. |
| 1934 Welding Industry Aug. 223/1 A continuous spot welding machine is shown... This is often called *stitch welding. 1978 D. R. Andrews Soldering, Brazing, Welding & Adhesives iii. 65 For stitch welding the electrodes are automatically opened and closed between the making of consecutive welds and the work is moved while the electrodes are parted. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Stitch⁓wheel. |
| 1620 Shelton 2nd Pt. Quix. xi. 63 Rozinante..perceiuing the libertie he had, stayed euery *stitch-while [acada paso] to feede vpon the greene grasse. 1896 Warwicksh. Gloss. s.v., It teks me every stitchwhile to keep them children's clothes tidy. |
| 1848 Lytton Harold ix. i, The notable ‘*stitchwork’ of Matilda the Duchess. 1863 Hawthorne Old Home, Civic Banq. II. 247 They [sc. tapestry figures]..vanish drearily into the old stitch-work of their substance when you try to make them out. |
▪ II. † stitch, n.2 Obs.
Forms: 1 stycce, sticce, (Northumb. stycgc, pl. stycas, stycgce), 2–3 stuc(c)he (ü), 3 sticche, stec(c)he, 4 Kent. stechche.
[Com. Teut. (wanting in Gothic): OE. stycce str. neut. = OS. stukki, MDu. stucke, stic (mod.Du. stuk), OHG. stucchi (MHG. stücke, mod.G. stück), ON. stykki (Sw. stycke, Da. stykke):—OTeut. *stukkjo-m, cogn. w. *stukko-z stock n.]
A fragment, piece.
In ONorthumbrian applied to ‘the widow's mite’.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxlvii. 17 Frusta panis, stycce hlafes. c 900 Bæda's Hist. iii. vi. (1890) 166 Se cyning..bebead, þæt mon þone disc tobræce to styccum [v.rr. sticcum, sticum]. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xix. 23 [Hia] worhton feuoer dælo, eᵹhuoelcum anum cempan dæl vel stycᵹ [Rushw. stycce]. a 1200 Moral Ode 189 in O.E. Hom. I. 171 We ᵹeueð uneðe for his luue a stuche of ure brede. c 1205 Lay. 16703 Samuel..al to-swadde þene king in Jerusalemus chepping, & þa stucchen [c 1275 sticches] tarueden wide ȝeond þa straten. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1992 Smit se smertliche herto, þat alle þeos fowr hweoles tohwiðeren to stucchen. 1340 Ayenb. 111 Þet is to zigge þet me ssel recordi zueteliche and smalliche be little stechches alle þe guodnesses of oure lhorde. |
▪ III. stitch, n.3 Now dial.
(stɪtʃ)
Forms: α. 5–6 steche, 8 stech, steach, 8–9 stetch, steatch. β. 7 stich(e, stytch, 6–9 stitch.
[Prob. orig. identical or cogn. w. stitch n.1 Cf. WFlem. steek, Fris. steke in sense 1.]
† 1. ? The act of cutting or dividing the earth with the share in ploughing; the (greater or lesser) depth to which the share is driven in making a furrow. Phr. to take stitch, to drive the share into the soil.
| 1600 Holland Livy xlii. ii. 1117 The clots of earth, that were turned with the plow as it took stitch and made furrow. 1601 ― Pliny xvii. iv. I. 503 In Syria, the husbandmen goe lightly over with their plough, and take no deep stitch in making their furrowes. 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. ii. 14 Taking a good stitch (as they call it in Husbandry). Ibid. ix. 65 You shall plow vp the ground againe with somewhat a better and deeper stytch then you did before. 1653 W. Blithe Eng. Improver Impr. 101 Plow it..of such a stitch or depth as the Land will bear. |
2. A ridge or balk of land; esp. a strip of ploughed land between two water-furrows; also, a narrow ridge in which potatoes, etc. are grown.
| α 1493 Will of Hilbrond, Cambridge (Somerset Ho.) ij. stechys of my whete. 1576 Hibaldstow Fine Roll in N.W. Linc. Gloss. (1889) s.v. Steche, Robert Ponton for his son carrying ij hors tyed together up the steche ij{supd}. 1764 Museum Rust. III. 321 Fourth ploughing, a clean earth; draw it on to the steach. 1780 Lett. & Pap. Bath Soc. I. 15 A whole field was sown, and set, in alternate stetches. 1794 A. Young Agric. Suffolk 24 In some districts, six, eight, and ten feet steatches, a little arched, are used. 1852 J. Caird Eng. Agric. 153 (Suffolk) It is ploughed into ‘stetches’ about 8 feet 2 inches in width. 1910 Essex Rev. Apr. 59 The field was ploughed..in stetches 16½ feet wide. |
| β 1610 W. Folkingham Feudigr. ii. i. 48 Small Ridges or Stitches are accomodated to cold and stiffe ground... These Stitches are common in Norfolke and Suffolke. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xviii. 495 Men at plow..that draue earth here and there, And turnd vp stitches orderly. 1664 Spelman Gloss., Selio,..A stiche of lande. 1763 Museum Rust. I. 21 A method of mowing wheat that grows on high ridges, as [well as] that which grows on stitches and flat lands. 1764 Ibid. II. 4 For coleseed, I lay it in broad lands, the stitches being pretty high in the middle. 1813 A. Young Agric. Essex I. 199 On the strong land in the maritime district, eights, as they call them, stitches of eight furrows are general. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Stitches, balks, or portions of grass land in arable fields. 1893 in Cozens-Hardy Broad Norf. 3 Rig, stitch are both used to describe the space between two double furrows. |
b. attrib.
| 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 324 Broad Land and stitch Ploughings. 1750 ― Mod. Husb. VI. i. 45 (E.D.S.) Wheat lying in the stitch-shape lies too high and dry. Ibid. 48 It lay in the stitch-posture. |
▪ IV. stitch, n.4 Now dial.
(stɪtʃ)
In 7 pl. stiches.
[Of uncertain origin; identity with stitch n.1 or n.2 is possible.]
A shock of corn consisting of a number of sheaves set up together in the field.
| 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 462 When the corne was newly reaped and cut downe, seeing the shocks and sheaves, cocks and stiches rannged even and orderly,..he rejoiced. 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict., Stitch, ten sheaves of corn set up together in the field; a shock of corn. 1891 Hardy Tess xiv, Every one placing her sheaf on end against those of the rest, till a shock, or ‘stitch’ as it was here called, of ten or a dozen was formed. |
▪ V. † stitch, n.5 Obs.
Short for stitchback.
| 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 23 For brewing strong brown Ale called Stitch. |
▪ VI. stitch, v.1
(stɪtʃ)
Forms: 3 stic(c)hen, (3rd sing. stihð, pa. tense sing. stiȝte, pl. stihten, pa. pple. istihd), 6 sty(t)che, sti(t)che, stech(e, Sc. stik(e, 7–8 stich, 6– stitch. Also steek v.3
[f. stitch n.1; cf. (M)LG., MDu. sticken (mod.Du. stikken), OHG. sticchen (mod.G. sticken).]
I. To prick, stab.
† 1. a. trans. To stab, pierce; transf. to afflict with a ‘stitch’ or sharp sudden pain. Also fig. Also thorough-stitch. Obs.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 272 Heo þuruh stihten Isboset adun into schere... Þe ueond þuruh stihð þet scher hwon delit of lecherie þurleð þe heorte. c 1230 Hali Meid. 9 Nat tah na mon bute ham self hwat ham sticheð ofte. c 1250 Hymn to Virgin i. 53 in Trin. Coll. Hom. App. 257 Þe ne stiȝte, ne þe ne priȝte, in side, in lende, ne elles where. 1525 tr. Brunswyke's Handywork Surg. xl. I ij b, The mouth is somtyme hewen that the cheeke hangeth of,..and somtyme it is stytched with a dagger, or with a spere. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iii. Furies 604 And in the end stitcht full of stings he dies. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 91, I must by and by, Stitcht full of stings With paine lye downe and dye. |
† b. To make (a wound) by stabbing. Obs.
| 1527 Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters F j b, The same water heleth very well all fresshe woundes where they be hewen or stytched. |
2. ? To make (the ‘eye’ or hole in a mill-stone) by piercing with a pick.
| c 1900 Trade Circular, Millstone Tools, Mill Picks for stitching eyes, peak stones, &c. |
II. To fasten or adorn with stitches.
3. a. trans. To fasten together or join (pieces of textile material, leather, etc.) by stitches; to make or mend (a garment, etc.) by thus joining its parts. Also with together; for stitch up see 9 a.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 424 Hore hesmel beo heie istihd [MS. C. Hare cop beo hecᵹe i-sticched]. 1525 tr. Brunswyke's Handywork Surg. xiii. C iij b, Whan y⊇ cloutis be well drye, than sowe them or styche them togeder. 1530 Palsgr. 736/2, I stytche, as a taylour doth a garment. 1587 L. Mascall Cattle, Horses (1596) 119 The Carter ought to haue skill how to mend his harnaise, to stitch and sow it when any part or parcell thereof decayeth. 1709 W. King Art of Love vi. 784 Full many a feather With twine of thread he stitch'd together. 1709 T. Baker Mrs. Centlivre's Busy Body Prol., Court Ladies will..stitch a Gown, to pass the time away. 1791 Cowper Iliad xii. 359 The forger of that shield..with thickest hides throughout Had lined it, stitch'd with circling wires of gold. 1819 Byron Juan ii. lxi, Two blankets stitch'd together, answering ill Instead of sail. 1850 Mechanics' Mag. LII. 195 The thread is passed through the eye of the needle, and the fabric to be stitched placed between the wheels, to which rotary motion is communicated. 1885 J. B. Leno Boot & Shoemaking 144 When stitching strong work, run a piece of rag to which soap or beeswax has been applied, round the welt. |
| fig. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iii. E 4 b, Honest musk⁓cod, twill not be so stitched together. 1629 Wotton Lett. (1907) II. 318 Some think the Parliament doth yet hang upon a thread, and may be stitched again together. c 1862 E. Dickinson in Poems (1955) I. 300, I saw no Way—The Heavens were stitched—I felt the Columns close. 1936 L. MacNeice tr. Aeschylus' Agamemnon 68, I stitched this murder together; it was my title. 1961 Daily Tel. 16 Nov. 21/3 The precast concrete sections are ‘stitched’ together with 33 miles of 11/8 in diameter high tensile steel strand. 1973 M. Amis Rachel Papers 220 My father..crossed his little legs and stitched his fingers. |
b. Shoemaking. (See quot. 1895.)
| 1895 Hasluck Boot Making 57 Shoemakers call all work sewn that is treated with a round awl; while stitching is only technically applied where the square awl is used. |
4. Surgery. To unite the edges of (a wound) by drawing stitches through the flesh. See also 9 b.
| 1580 J. Hester tr. Fioravanti's Disc. Chirurg. 12 The pleggits of Tow which is layd vpon woundes when they are first stitched. 1585 Higins Junius' Nomencl. 262/1 Fibula,..a kind of instrument wherewith a wound is stitched and drawne together. 1676 Wiseman Chirurg. Treat. v. viii. 372 It may be reasonable to lay open the Wound, and stitch the Gut with the Glovers Stitch. |
5. Bookbinding. To fasten together (a number of sheets or sections) by passing the thread or wire through all the sheets at once. Occas. with up, together. Distinguished from sew: see sew v.1 1 e.
| 1566 Star Chamber Decree in Arber Transcr. Stationers' Reg. (1875) I. 322 No person shall..put to sale, bind, stitch, or sowe, anie such Bookes or Copies. a 1670 Hacket Life Abp. Williams i. (1693) 159 The Collection of all the precedent Passages were gathered by that Lord himself, and stitched up into one Book. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 529 ¶2 All Pamphlets, or Works that are only stitched. 1827 Scott Surg. Dau. Pref., As soon as I became possessed of my first volume, neatly stitched up and boarded. 1912 Lady F. Balfour Life J. MacGregor 270 His sermons were stitched..by his own hands. |
6. a. To fasten or attach (something) by sewing. Const. to; also in, into, on, upon. Also with adv., as on, in.
| 1530 Palsgr. 736/1, I stytche, I fastyn one thyng to another with stytches of nedyll and threde, je affiche. Ibid. 736/2 Stytche on thys claspe better, affichez ceste agraffe mieulx. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 56 Within doors they cover their head with a Cap of red cloth,..to the middle whereof they stitch a round of Pearles. 1833 [S. Smith] Lett. J. Downing xxii. (1835) 131, I sot down behind him, and stitched on the button in three minits. 1857 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art i. 32 Those stupid tailors' 'prentices who are always stitching the sleeves in wrong way upwards. 1883 S. Chappel Sewing Machine 20 It makes a very neat trimming which may afterwards be stitched on to any article as desired. |
| fig. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet (1844) 35 Stitch charitie to thy faith, or rip faith from thy works. 1591 Lyly Endimion i. i, My thoughts Eumenides are stitched to the starres. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 540 Unto his glorious exploits they stitched also ridiculous miracles. a 1637 B. Jonson Horace's Art Poet. 19 Ye have oft-times, that may o'er-shine the rest, A Scarlet Piece, or two, stitch'd in. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xii, I'se warrant he'll stitch our auld lands of Ravenswood to her petticoat tail. a 1901 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality (1903) I. 11 Stitching the thread⁓bare metaphysical arguments into a more stable fabric. |
b. To enclose in or into a cover or receptacle secured by stitching. Also with away. Cf. 9 c.
| 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxii, She stitched away the major part of her trinkets, bills, and bank-notes about her person. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ix, I had nigh a thousand pounds' worth stitched in my belt. |
7. To ornament with stitches; to embroider.
| a 1529 Skelton E. Rummyng 69 She..gyrdeth in her gytes Stytched and pranked with pletes. 1535 in Archæologia IX. 248 Three cootys of grene clothe styched with grene silke. 1570 Levins Manip. 150/26 To stitche, acu pingere. 1641 Invent. Goods C'tess Arundel in Burlington Mag. (1912) Jan. 235/2 Seauen Peeces of Indian Twilt hangings stitcht. with Orenge Colo⊇ silke. 1710 Sibbald Fife & Kinross i. viii. 34 Wearing White Shirts, stitcht with Red Silk, upon their Armour. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. v. viii, Tricolor stitched by their own needle. 1905 R. Bagot Passport i. 2 Its button-holes stitched with red. |
8. absol. and intr. To make stitches; to work with a needle and thread. to stitch away, to go on sewing energetically.
| 1697 De Foe Ess. Projects 282 To teach them [Women] to Stitch and Sow, or make Bawbles. 1712 Motteux 2nd Pt. Quix. xliii. (1749) IV. 62 Go on, go on, friend, said Don Quixote, thread, tack, stitch on, heap proverb on proverb, out with 'em, man, spew them out. 1843 Hood Song of Shirt i, Stitch! stitch! stitch! 1853 Motley in O. W. Holmes Life (1878) 72 There is nothing for it but to penelopize, pull to pieces and stitch away again. 1853 Mrs. Gaskell Ruth i, More than a dozen girls sat in the room..stitching away as if for very life. 1865 Flor. Marryat Love's Confl. I. viii. 128 She took her work and..stitched in silence. |
9. stitch up. trans. (See also 5.) a. To make or put together by sewing; sometimes with implication of hasty or inferior work. Also fig.
| 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. C 3 b, By the end I haue giuen the Welch-man to his All, he may stitch vp his Euerie when it pleaseth him. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 724 Did no Committee sit, where he [the Devil] Might cut out journy⁓work for thee;..To stitch up sale and sequestration? 1701 Steele Funeral v. i, She has out of Impatience to see her self in her Weeds, order'd her Mantua-Woman to stich up any thing immediately. |
b. To close (an orifice, a wound), to mend (a rent), by sewing the edges together. Also fig.
| 1580 J. Hester tr. Fioravanti's Disc. Chirurg. 35 b, Then hee was caryed to a Chyrurgian, and hee stitched him vp. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. v. §6 (1912) 182 It is in your hand as well to stitch up his life againe, as it was before to rent it. 1643 Baker Chron., Stephen 68 Seeking to stitch up the breaches which the violence of warre had made. 1657 Penit. Conf. xi. 307 Be sure of the Confessor, his mouth is stitched up. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 I. 183 No thread can stitch up a good name torn by calumnious defamation. 1679 J. Yonge Currus Triumph. 79, I dressed him with hot Ol. Terebinth, which restraining the flux, gave me opportunity to stitch up the wound. 1712 Motteux Quix. iv. iii. (1749) II. 29, I am sure he would rather have stitch'd up his lips, or bit off his tongue, than have spoken a word, that should make him incur your displeasure. |
c. To enclose in a cover or receptacle and secure it by sewing. Also fig.
| 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. Ded., Peace stichd vp in a Gaberdine without pleat or wrinckle. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxix. (1856) 254, I had this journal of mine stitched up in its tarred canvas-bag. |
d. To tighten or confine (a fabric) by sewing the parts closer together.
| 1704 Swift T. Tub xi. (ed. 3) 207 He hired a Taylor to stitch up the Collar so close, that it was ready to choak him. |
e. ? To strengthen with extra stitches.
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 92 The seams of courses and topsails are stuck or stitched up, in the middle of the seams, along the whole length, with double seaming-twine. |
f. Of a criminal, etc.: to cause (a person) to be convicted, esp. by informing or manufacturing evidence. Also gen., to swindle, to overcharge exorbitantly.
| 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard v. 142 Your confederate has just about stitched you up. 1977 New Society 7 July 6/2 Both Sheila and Gary have many stories of being ‘stitched up’ by the police or fleeced. Gary says the Dip Squad—the special police patrol looking for pickpockets—are ‘a bunch of wankers’. 1977 Woman 3 Sept. 30/3 After shelling out {pstlg}1.50 for a fold-up version [of an umbrella] she found that she'd been stitched up... Two spokes were broken. 1978 F. Branston Sergeant Ritchie's Conscience i. v. 69 Those [rivals] who wouldn't be frightened he stitched up, his favourite method being to sell an opponent some drugs, then inform on him to the police. |
▪ VII. stitch, v.2 dial.
(stɪtʃ)
[Goes with stitch n.3]
trans. To turn up (the ground) in ridges in order to cover or protect the roots of potatoes, etc.; to earth up. (See also quot. 1866.)
| 1805 Trans. Soc. Arts XXIII. 31 In June, they were run through with the potatoe harrow, and made quite flat before they could be stitched up again. 1828–32 Webster, Stitch..To form land into ridges. (N. England.) 1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Words Lincs. 196 Stitch-up, to plough very deeply. 1899 Cumbld. Gloss., Stitch, to form the ridge on which potatoes or turnips are grown. |
▪ VIII. stitch, v.3 dial.
(stɪtʃ)
Also stich(e, stych(e.
[f. stitch n.4]
trans. To set up in ‘stitches’ or shocks. Also with up.
| 1674 J. Flavel Husb. Spiritualized xv. 129 After these follow the binders, who stitch it up. Ibid. 138 Down go the laden ears flat to the ground; Which those that follow having stitcht and bound, It's carted home unto the Barn. 1794 Wedge Agric. Warw. 23 For pease and beans styched, from 2s. 6d. to 5s. per acre. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk. s.v. Stiche, Stiche up them beäns i' rucks. 1886 W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., To stitchy is to set up the sheaves, when bound, in rows of stitches. |