Etymograph

English

knit

Knit comes from Middle English knytten ‘to attach or close with a knot’, from Old English cnyttan ‘to tie’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gnod-1uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵónu1‘knee’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵnu-ton1uncertain
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttô1‘a knot’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttijaną1‘to bind into a knot’reconstructed
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knuttijan1‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150cnyttan1‘to tie’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knytten1‘to attach or close with a knot’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1591knit1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English knit
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “But meet him now, and be it in the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gnod-Wiktionary, English knituncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵónuWiktionary, English knit‘knee’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵnu-tonWiktionary, English knituncertain
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttôWiktionary, English knit‘a knot’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttijanąWiktionary, English knit‘to bind into a knot’reconstructed
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knuttijanWiktionary, English knit‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150cnyttanWiktionary, English knit‘to tie’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyttenWiktionary, English knit‘to attach or close with a knot’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1591knitWiktionary, English knit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “But meet him now, and be it in the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu ‘knee’

gon, kneel, 23 more

through Proto-Germanic *knuttô ‘a knot’

knot, 6 more

Today it means

verb To turn thread or yarn into a piece of fabric by forming loops that are pulled through each other. This can be done by hand with needles or by machine.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “knit”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gnod- / knit

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