▪ I. knit, v.
(nɪt)
Forms: 1 cnyttan, 3–4 knutte(n (ü), 4 kneotte(n, 4–5 knette(n, 4–6 knytte, knyt(e, knitte, 6– knit (dial. knet). pa. tense 1 cnytte, 3–4 knutte (ü), 4 knette, 4–5 knyt(te, 4– knit (dial. knet), 5–6 knytted, 5– knitted. pa. pple. 1 (ᵹe)cnyted, 3 i-knut, 4 i-, y-knyt, (y-knitte), 4–6 (–9 dial.) knet, (5 -tte, -te), cnyt, knyt, (-ytte, -yȝt, -ut(t), 4–5 knytted, 4– knitted, knit, (4–7 knitt(e, 6 nit, 7 knite). β. pa. tense 6– (north. dial.) knat. pa. pple. 3 i-cnutten, i-cnute, 5–6 (9 dial. and arch.) knitten.
[OE. cnyttan, weak vb. = MDu. and MLG. knutten, G. knütten:—OTeut. *knuttjan, f. stem knutt-, of OE. cnotta, knot n. The pa. pple. is regularly knitted, contr. knit; but knitten, after the analogy of strong vbs., has also been used, and (in the north) a strong pa. tense knat; cf. sit, sat, sitten.]
† 1. a. trans. To tie in or with a knot; to tie, fasten, bind, attach, join, by or as by knotting. With cogn. obj. to knit a knot. arch. and dial.
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. xxxvi. (Z.) 214 Ic cnytte, necto. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 218 Cnyte mid anum ðræde on anum clænan linenan claþe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 396 Mon knut his kurtel uorte habben þouht of one þinge. c 1230 Hali Meid. 33 Beo þe cnot icnute anes of wedlac. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 169 To bugge a belle of brasse..And knitten on a colere..And hangen it vp-on þe cattes hals. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 209 Thou knyttest [v.r. knettest] thee ther thou art nat receyued. 14.. in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 249 Cryst for vs on croys was knet. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1356 For him behoued knyt þe knott [of monkhood]. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §122 Thre or four splentes that the bees may knitte theyr combes vnto. 1526 Tindale Acts x. 11 A greate shete knytt at the iiij. corners. 1595 Shakes. John iv. i. 42, I knit my hand-kercher about your browes. 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 404 Look to the first marriage that euer was; the Lorde Himselfe knit the knot. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. viii. 107 Knit with three Knots the Fillets, knit 'em straight. 17.. Ploughman i. in Burns' Wks., His garters knit below his knee. 1805 Log H.M.S. ‘Prince’ 21 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1846) VII. 189 note, Knitting fore and mizen rigging, and securing the masts. |
b. To fasten up, shut up. Cf. 10 a and b. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxxxv. (1495) 726 His tonge is bounden and knytted. c 1400 Rom. Rose 2092 Alle my jowelle loke and knette, I bynde undir this litel keye. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 677 Ye have hys tonge cnyt. c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 451 Now ar the weders cest and cateractes knyt. 1509 Parl. Devylles xxiii, Thy conclusyon knytteth me so feruently. |
c. To geld (a ram) by tying the scrotum. Obs.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 482 Then do they use to knit them [rams], and so, in time, their stones, deprived of nourishment..by reason of knitting, do dry and consume away. 1744–50 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandm. IV. i. 129 When he is five years old, he is to be knit and fatted off. |
d. intr. To attach, itself, adhere. Obs.
| 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. xxxvi. 11 Heereunto knitteth rightuousnesse, as the effect of the cause. |
2. trans. † a. To knot string in open meshes so as to form (a net); to net. Obs.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 436/168 Ase man knut a net: i-knut swiþe harde and stronge. a 1687 Waller Mrs. Baughton Wks. (1730) 41 Those curious nets..thy slender fingers knit. |
b. To form (a close texture) by the interlooping of successive series of loops of yarn or thread.
Now the chief specific sense. App. so called from a general resemblance to the formation of network.
| 1530 Palsgr. 599/2, I knyt bonettes or hosen. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 312 She can knit him a stocke. 1660 Seas. Exhort. 11 In Knitting, and Sewing of garments. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. iii. (1869) I. 259 In the time of Edward IV. the art of knitting stockings was probably not known in..Europe. 1834–7 Southey T' terrible Knitters, We knat quorse wosset stockings. 1865 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 288, I have knitted myself a pair of garters. 1889 N.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., Oor Sarah's knitten yards an' yards on it. |
c. absol. or intr. To do knitting (as in b); spec. to do knitting in plain stitch as opposed to purl.
| 1530 Palsgr. 599/2, I knyt, as a matte maker knytteth. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 310 Item she can knit. 1859 Dickens T. Two Cities iii. xv, A number of women, busily knitting. c 1890 tr. T. de Dillmont's Encycl. Needlewk. 196 Piqué pattern..1st and 2nd row—purl 7, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, [etc.]. 1902 [see purl v.1 4]. 1944 A. Thirkell Headmistress iii. 61 She was well settled into knit two, purl two. 1972 ‘B. Graeme’ Tomorrow's Yesterday xiv. 142 She would have to undo three rows of knitting. Knit two, purl two, the pattern called for, but she had knitted one and purled three. |
3. trans. To interlock, interlace, intertwine; to twine, weave, or plait together. arch. or Obs.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xxii, Kynge Mark and sire Tristram toke eyther other by the handes hard knyte to gyders. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 139 The aungell sate downe & knyt roddes, & wrought on y⊇ basket. 1634 Milton Comus 143 Com, knit hands. Ibid. 862 In twisted braids of lilies knitting The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair. |
4. a. To draw closely together; to contract in folds or wrinkles; † to clench (the fist).
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 270 This Palamon gan knytte his browes tweye. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 48 He frompeled his forhede and knytted his browes. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. i. 15 He knits his Brow, and shewes an angry Eye. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. v. i. Wks. 1856 I. 132 They all..knit their fists at him. 1611 Cotgr., s'Acroupir, a Horse to knit, or draw vp, or gather togither, his hinder parts. 1710 Tatler No. 253 ¶8 May a Man knit his Forehead into a Frown? 1817–18 Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 41, April 18. Cold and raw... The lambs don't play, but stand knit up. 1874 Burnand My Time iv. 34 Knitting his eyebrows. |
b. intr. said of the brows.
| 1815 [see knitting ppl. a.]. 1862 J. Grant Capt. of Guard xx, His brows knit and his eyes loured. |
5. a. trans. To make compact or firm by close contraction or consolidation of parts; to make close, dense, or hard; to compact; to concentrate.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. cxciv, Go litill tretise..And pray the reder..Of his gudnese thy brukilnese to knytt. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ii. 31 William wichttar wes of corss Nor Sym, and bettir knittin. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 19 Knitting all his force, [he] got one hand free. 1607 Markham Caval. i. (1617) 4 The..sharpenesse..[of] winter..will..harden and knitte him [a foal]. a 1848 R. W. Hamilton Rew. & Punishm. v. 231 With striving we knit our strength. 1872 J. L. Sanford Estim. Eng. Kings, Chas. I 335 His mind was much more firmly knit..than that of his father. |
b. intr. (for refl.) To become compact, firm, or strong by close consolidation of parts; to become consolidated.
| 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. v. §4 Young men, when they knit and shape perfectly, do seldom grow to a further stature. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. (1623) 45 After your mares have beene covered,..you shall let them rest three weeks, or a moneth, that the substance may knit. 1662 R. Mathew Unl. Alch. §111. 182 Warm water,..sprinkle this powder thereon, and keep it stirring with a stick, otherwise it wil knit to a stone in the bottom. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 1264 Hence the limbs Knit into force. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 67 Weakness knits stubborn while it's bearing thee. |
c. intr. spec. Of fruit: To form, ‘set’. Also of the tree, or of the blossom: To form fruit. (Said also of corn and potatoes.)
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 2737 In the moneth of May..frutes were knyt [ed. 1874 mispr. kuyt]. Ibid. 4973. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. (1807–8) II. 317 The fruit was knit before the growth..could be hindered. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 473 Some trees..doe not knit nor shew their fruit immediatly vpon their blooming. 1699 Poor Man's Plea 5 Continued good Weather..gave the Corn..time to knit and kearn, as they call it. 1719 London & Wise Compl. Gard. 33 The new Shoots..blossom extremely, but little of the Fruit knits. 1884 Cheshire Gloss. s.v., Potatoes also are said to knit when the tubers begin to form. 1894 Cath. News 1 Dec. 8/1 A friend..remarked..that the gooseberries he had planted in his garden were ‘knitting’ well. |
† d. Of a female animal: To conceive, form fruit: cf. quot. 1614 in b, and knit ppl. a. 3. Obs.
| 1732 W. Ellis Pract. Farmer 139 At five weeks end let her take buck, that the former brood may go off before she knits, about a week. |
6. a. trans. To conjoin or unite closely and firmly (contiguous members, broken parts). Cf. knitted, quot. 1855.
| 1578 Banister Hist. Man i. 3 The vpper head of the thighe, where it is knit with the Bone of the hippe. 1676 Wiseman Surg. (J.), Nature cannot knit the bones while the parts are under a discharge. 1715–20 Pope Iliad viii. 393 There, where the juncture knits the channel bone. 1811 Pinkerton Petral. II. 624 A piece..which had at some former time been separated from it..was again knitted to the stock in such a perfect manner that the joint was scarcely perceptible. 1849 Murchison Siluria iii. 41 The whole of the beds are so knit together. 1862 Stanley Jewish Ch. (1877) I. xviii. 346 The good physicians who knit together the dislocated bones of a disjointed time. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid ii. 786 Huge timbers of oak knitted to timbers, a fabric that reaches to heaven. |
b. intr. To become closely united; to grow together.
| 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 91 Leaving of the grief undressed for two daies, that the veins may knit. 1621 Donne Serm. xv. 150 And invites the severall Ioynts to knit again. Mod. In young people fractured bones soon knit. |
c. intr. Of bees: To cluster together in a mass. Now dial.
| [1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §122 Whan the swarme is knytte, take a hyue and splent it within.] 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 181 Bowes and branches,..whereupon they may knit and settle themselves. 1648 Markham Housew. Gard. iii. x. (1668) 77 If your swarm knit in the top of a tree. 1831 W. Howitt Seasons 144 The queen-bee alights..and the rest of the bees clustering, or as it is termed knitting, about her, form a living, brown, dependent cone. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk. s.v., I never like to see the bees knit on the ground—it's a sure sign of a berrin' [= burial]. |
d. trans. To form out of parts compacted. rare.
| 1896 A. E. Housman Shropsh. Lad xxxii, From far, from eve and morning And yon twelve-winded sky, The stuff of life to knit me Blew hither: here am I. |
7. fig. a. To conjoin as by knotting or binding together; to bind, join, or connect firmly; to unite or combine intimately.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1855 God,..First body and saul togyder knyt. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 258 Ne shal I neuere been vntrewe wyf..I wol been his to whom þat I am knyt. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 295 Manhode was knytte unto godhed in his persone. 1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes A ij, So nere neighbors..knitte in Christes faithe. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. i. §6 The mind may..knit some things together in fictitious Ideas. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 69 ¶6 They [merchants] knit Mankind together in a mutual Intercourse of good Offices. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 335 Never [hath] love so well his children in harmony knitten. 1879 Dixon Windsor II. vii. 69 These lords were closely knit by marriage. |
b. intr. (for refl.) To join; to grow together, unite closely.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 206 b, To..allure the hartes of other men, to ioyne and knit with hym, against all hostilitie. 1627 E. F. Hist. Edw. II (1680) 69 And then retreat to knit with their Confederates. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 252/1 The city..is broken into two parts which will never knit again. 1832–4 De Quincey Cæsars Wks. 1859 X. 10 Everywhere the members of this empire had begun to knit; the cohesion was far closer. |
8. trans. To make or constitute by joining (a covenant, agreement, or the like); to make fast or firm, to establish (a relation of union); to ‘tie’, ‘cement’.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 564 He knyt a couenaunde..with monkynd þere. c 1400 Destr. Troy 11863 Soche acord was here knyt with knynges. a 1541 Wyatt Defence in Wks. (1861) p. xxxiii, Them that knit company with Chappins. 1600 Holland Livy xxv. xxix. 570 When peace was knit again. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 296 It was the very issue, knit by the express words of the plea. |
9. intr. To effervesce, form froth, as wine or beer. In pa. pple., effervescing, brisk; not still or dead.
[Perh. related to intrans. senses under 5. But it may be a different word, and properly written nit: cf. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Nit, wine that is brisk, and pour'd quick into a Glass. 1725 in New Cant. Dict.]
| 1743 Lond. & Country Brew. iii. (ed. 2) 220 In Winter they commonly heat their Parcels to invigorate the new Drink..and then..the Malt-Liquor will knit and sparkle in a Glass, though drawn out of a Barrel. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xvi, If the gooseberry wine was well knit, the gooseberies were of her gathering. |
10. knit up. a. trans. To tie up; to fasten up; to string up, to hang; to compose or repair by knitting. lit. and fig.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 2014 Þai..knitten vp þe saile, Atyrit the tacle. Ibid. 11460 All..knit vp þere couenaunte. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 241 All my vesture is of golde pure,..In siluer net my heare up knet. 1530 Palsgr. 599/2, I knytte up a man, I holde hym shorte or kepe hym from his lybertye. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. ii. 37 Sleepe that knits vp the rauel'd Sleeue of Care. 1610 ― Temp. iii. iii. 89 These (mine enemies) are all knit vp In their distractions. 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. i. ii, They're fools that slav'ry like, and may be free; The chiels may a' knit up themselves for me. 1846 Trench Mirac. xxvii. (1862) 371 We see how entirely his own life is knit up with his child's. |
† b. To ‘shut up’, take up; to snub. Obs. Cf. 1 b.
| 1530 Palsgr. 599/2, I knyt one up, I take hym up, I reprove hym. 1571 Edwards Damon & Pithias in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 46 So sternly he frowned on me, and knit me up so short. |
c. To close up; to conclude, finish, or end.
| 1530 Palsgr. 599/2, I knytte up a mater, I make an ende or conclusyon of a matter. 1566 Addison Apuleius viii. xxxii. (1893) 163 To end and knit up all sorrow. 1587 Thynne in Holinshed's Scot. Chron. (1805) II. 377 Before I knit up this exordium. 1622 F. Markham Bk. War v. ix. 196, I will heere knit vp this Epistle. 1879 Froude Cæsar xxv. 434 The tragedy was being knitted up in the deaths of the last actors in it. |
† d. To sum up; to express concisely. Obs.
| 1553 Short Catech. in Lit. & Doctr. Edw. VI (Parker Soc.) 499 Will you that I knit up in a brief abridgment all that belongeth both to God and men? 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 84 b, To knit up the matter in fewe wordes. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 280 Briefly to knit up their succession. |
11. Comb. knit-back, knit-wort, the herb Comfrey; knit-beggar = couple-beggar.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cclxxiv, It is called..in English, Comfrey..of some Knitbacke. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Asne, Oreille d'asne, th' hearbe Comfrey, knit-backe, knit-wort, blacke-wort. 1700 Wilmslow Parish Register Aug. 25, in Earwaker E. Cheshire (1877) I. 99 Were married by [a] knit-begger, Daniel Hulme and Esther Hunt. |
▪ II. knit, n.
(nɪt)
[f. knit v.]
1. a. The style or stitch in which anything is knitted; knitted work; texture. Also, a knitted fabric. knit stitch, the plainest stitch in knitting.
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 95 Let..their garters [be] of an indifferent knit. 1603 Q. Eliz. Wardr. in Leisure H. (1884) 739/2 A paire of sleeves of gold and silver knytt. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 217/3 Turtle Neck Sweater. Extra heavy knit. All wool. 1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 68/2 (caption) Rows of plain knitting... Smooth knit stitch;..rough purl stitch. 1960 Guardian 19 Feb. 8/6 Dress and jacket of corded cotton knit. 1960 News Chron. 22 Mar. 11/3 Textured nylon is making news with new chunky knits, and fur fabrics. 1963 New Yorker 29 June 44 It looks like sharkskin, but it's really a knit. 1964 Guardian 22 Jan. 8/4 Knits are used for dresses, coats, suits.., so that it is possible to dress in knitwear from dawn to dark. 1964 McCall's Sewing iv. 53/1 When buying a knit, remember that it is a resilient fabric. |
b. The action or process of knitting.
| 1926 E. K. Middleton New Knitting Pref., Left hand knit and left hand purl are simpler and quicker than the old right hand knit. |
c. A knitted garment. Freq. in pl.
| 1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn i. iv. 38 His brother Henry..was selling jersey knits. 1965 Harper's Bazaar June 66 Sportive, can't-wait-for-winter knits. 1972 Daily Tel. 30 Oct. 13/1 Glitter knits are one of the top fashions for winter. |
2. Knitting, uniting of parts. rare.
| 1892 Pall Mall G. 4 Oct. 7/1 A palmist on Mr. G. G... He has the knits of order but no science. |
3. Contraction or wrinkle (of the brow).
| 1895 Daily News 29 Jan. 5/4 He..has..a permanent knit of the brow. |
4. Mining: see quot. (Perh. properly nit.)
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Knits or Knots, small particles of ore. |
▪ III. knit, ppl. a.
(nɪt)
[Pa. pple. of knit v.]
1. a. Knotted, tied, fastened together; contracted together: see the verb.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 279/2 Knytte, nodatus, nexus, connexus. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. iii. (1628) 79 The knit vnitie and conioyned concord of the Saxons. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xx. 554 Where the knit nerves the pliant elbow strung. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles xiv. 139 He turned with knit eyebrows to his wife. |
b. With qualifying adv., as well-knit.
| 1725 Pope Odyss. xviii. 259 Thy well-knit frame..Speaks thee an hero, from an hero sprung. 1871 Tylor Prim. Cult. II. xiv. 122 Well-knit harangues full of the poetic figure and metaphor of the professional orator. |
2. Formed as a texture by knitting: see knit v. 2 b. [Or a use of knit n. 1.]
Formerly sometimes hyphened, as knit-stockings.
| [1488 Will in Ripon Ch. Acts (Surtees) 286, j knyt gyrdyll.] 1587 Harrison England ii. xxii. (1877) i. 342 In colouring their knit hosen. 1612 Sturtevant Metallica 71 Knit stockings with loome, which is a late Inuention of one Maister Lee. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton xviii. (1840) 302 He..obtained it for a knit cap. 1818 Lady Morgan Autobiog. (1859) 86 A knit silk scarf. 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 283/1 Children's Knit Undershirts. Ladies' Jersey Knit Ribbed Vests. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 203/1 Lumberman's Knit Socks. a 1901 Mod. Trade Rep., The knit goods market is in a flourishing condition. 1922 E. E. Cummings Enormous Room vii. 155 A knit sweater of a strangely ugly red hue. 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics xiii. 517 The inner liner of the suit is of neoprene-coated fabric with knit stretch sections. 1970 Catal. L. L. Bean (Freeport, Maine) Fall 32 Deluxe insulated coverall... Knit cuffs at wrists. 1970 Women's Wear Daily 23 Nov. 31/2 So many knit pants in the market are dumb, missy looks. |
† 3. Having conceived, pregnant. Obs.
| 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 218 No sooner doth she perceive herselfe to be knit with egge, but she falleth presently to build her nest. 1781 W. Blane Ess. Hunting (1788) 118 The Doe..seldom holds an end, unless knit; or at the end of the season has kindled. |
▪ IV. knit
variant of nit n.1 and v.1