Sewing

How to spell sewing

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce sewing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sewing mean?

1. nounThe activity or craft of joining or mending cloth using a needle and thread.
2. verbPresent participle of sew: joining or mending fabric with needle and thread.

Sewing in a sentence

• noun

  She took up sewing to repair her own clothes and save money.

• verb

  She spent the evening sewing a hem on her work trousers.

• noun

  The sewing machine in the spare room needs a new bobbin.

• verb

  He was sewing a missing button back onto his shirt.

Where does sewing come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the Old English verb siwian or seowian, meaning 'to stitch together with needle and thread'. That verb came from a much older Germanic root, which is also the source of related words in Dutch and German for stitching, and it ultimately traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to sew' that gave Latin its suere (the source of 'suture'). The -ing form turns the action into a noun naming the craft or task itself, a pattern English has used for centuries. The spelling trap is that 'sewing' is pronounced exactly like 'sowing' (scattering seed), yet the two come from completely different roots: sew is about thread, while sow is the Old English sawan, about planting. Remembering that 'sew' shares its eye-catching e-w with 'thread' work helps keep it apart from the farming word.

How the word is built

• sew (to join cloth with needle and thread)
• -ing (noun/verbal suffix)