needle, implement of metal or other material used to carry the thread in sewing and in various forms of needlework and manufacturing. The earliest needles were merely awls or punches. Stone, bone, ivory, and thorns, with or without an eye, were used by primitive peoples. The midrib of the palm is used in Africa, with the thread tied on. Much of the embroidery of antiquity must have required fine needles; China is supposed to have first used steel ones, and the Moors are credited with carrying them to the West. The needle-making trade was established in Nuremberg in the 14th cent. and in England in Elizabeth's reign. In 1656 the first needlemakers' guild was chartered. Manufacturing by machinery developed gradually. In 1785 the first steel rod was mechanically prepared; in 1826 eyes were drilled by stamping, and by 1870 the manufacture was mostly mechanical. Different kinds of steel are used for different needles, e.g., chromium and stainless steel for surgical and hypodermic uses. Over 250 kinds of needles are made, such as the pearl needles of India, bead needles for fine beadwork, and others for carpets, shoes, upholstery, sailmaking, knitting, and every type of sewing machine.
What does it mean when you dream about a needle?
If something were “needling” a person, then this dream symbol would be appropriate. A threaded needle can indicate the repairing of, or the sewing up of, unfinished issues in one’s personal or business life. If, however, a needle is seen as an instrument of health in the hands of a doctor or a nurse, then health issues may be of concern to the dreamer. (See also Syringe, Vaccination).
A slender-pointed leaf, as of the firs and other evergreens.
A slender rod or probe used to sort decks of edge-punched cards by inserting it through holes along the margin of the deck and vibrating the deck so that cards having that particular hole are retained, but those having a notch cut at that hole position drop out.
A device made of steel pointed at one end with a hole at the other; used for sewing.
A device made of steel with a hook at one end; used for knitting.
A piece of copper or brass about ½ inch (13 millimeters) in diameter and 3 or 4 feet (90 or 120 centimeters) long, pointed at one end, thrust into a charge of blasting powder in a borehole and then withdrawn, leaving a hole for the priming, fuse, or squib. Also known as pricker.
A thin pointed indicator on an instrument dial.
A pointed, elevated, and detached mass of rock formed by erosion, such as an aiguille.
A long, slender snow crystal that is at least five times as long as it is broad.
A needle-shaped or acicular mineral crystal.
1. A piece of timber laid horizontally and supported on props or shores under a wall or building, etc.; provides temporary support while the foundation or part beneath is altered, repaired, or underpinned.
2. A short timber, or the like, which passes through a hole in a wall; used to support a shore, a scaffold, etc.
b. a small thin pointed device, esp one made of stainless steel, used to transmit the vibrations from a gramophone record to the pick-up
a. the long hollow pointed part of a hypodermic syringe, which is inserted into the body
3. Surgery a pointed steel instrument, often curved, for suturing, puncturing, or ligating
4. a long narrow stiff leaf, esp of a conifer, in which water loss is greatly reduced
5. any slender sharp spine, such as the spine of a sea urchin
6. any slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument
8. a crystal resembling a needle in shape
9. a sharp pointed metal instrument used in engraving and etching