Etymograph

English

knitting

Knitting comes from Middle English knyttynge ‘the act or state of connection or linkage,…’, from knytten ‘to attach or close with a knot’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *knuttô.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttô1‘a knot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttijaną1‘to bind into a knot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knuttijan1‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cnyttan1‘to tie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knytten2‘to attach or close with a knot’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyttynge3‘the act or state of connection or linkage, especially of fibres or cords’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1955knitting3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English knytten
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English knyttynge
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English knitting
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, Notes and News: Women Delay Railway Demolition: “At Kiwi, 40 miles from Nelson [New Zealand], eight…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttôWiktionary, Middle English knytten‘a knot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*knuttijanąWiktionary, Middle English knytten‘to bind into a knot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knuttijanWiktionary, Middle English knytten‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cnyttanWiktionary, Middle English knytten‘to tie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyttenWiktionary, Middle English knyttynge‘to attach or close with a knot’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyttyngeWiktionary, English knitting‘the act or state of connection or linkage, especially of fibres or cords’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1955knittingWiktionary, English knitting. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, Notes and News: Women Delay Railway Demolition: “At Kiwi, 40 miles from Nelson [New Zealand], eight…”

Formed from knit + -ing

Proto-Germanic *knuttô ‘a knot’

Proto-Germanic *knuttijaną ‘to bind into a knot’

Proto-West Germanic *knuttijan ‘to bind into a knot, tie with a knot’

Old English cnyttan ‘to tie’

Middle English knytten ‘to attach or close with a knot’

English knit

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 The action of the verb to knit; the process of producing knitted material.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “knitting”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English knytten, Middle English knyttynge. 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-Germanic *knuttô / knitting

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