Thread
Thread (thred) , noun
[Old English threed, þred, Anglo-Saxon þrad; akin to Dutch draad, German draht wire, thread, Old High German drāt, Icelandic þrāer a thread, Swedish tråd, Danish traad, and Anglo-Saxon þrāwan to twist. See Throw, and compare Third.]
1.
A very small twist of flax, wool, cotton, silk, or other fibrous substance, drawn out to considerable length; a compound cord consisting of two or more single yarns doubled, or joined together, and twisted; also, one fiber of a cord composed of multiple fibers.
2.
A filament of any substance, as of glass, gold or silver; a filamentous part of an object, such as a flower; a component fiber of any or of any fibrous substance, as of bark.
3.
The prominent part of the spiral of a screw or nut; the rib. See Screw, n., 1.
4.
Something continued in a long course or tenor; a recurrent theme or related sequence of events in a larger story; as the thread of a story, or of life, or of a discourse. [Figurative] — Bp. Burnet
5.
Figuratively: Composition; quality; fineness. [Obsolete]
A neat courtier,
Of a most elegant thread.
6.
(Computers) A related sequence of instructions or actions within a program that runs at least in part independent of other actions within the program; -- such threads are capable of being executed only in oprating systems permittnig multitasking.
7.
(Computers) A sequence of messages posted to an on-line newsgroup or discussion group, dealing with the same topic; -- messages in such a thread typically refer to a previous posting, thus allowing their identification as part of the thread. Some news-reading programs allow a user to follow a single such thread independent of the other postings to that newsgroup.
Collocations (6)
Air thread , the fine white filaments which are seen floating in the air in summer, the production of spiders; gossamer.
Thread and thrum , the good and bad together. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare
Thread lace , lace made of linen thread.
Thread needle , a game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still holding his neighbor, runs between the others; -- called also thread the needle.
Thread , transitive verb
1.
To pass a thread through the eye of; as, to thread a needle.
2.
To pass or pierce through as a narrow way; also, to effect or make, as one's way, through or between obstacles; to thrid.
Heavy trading ships... threading the Bosphorus.
They would not thread the gates.
3.
To form a thread, or spiral rib, on or in; as, to thread a screw or nut.