Etymograph

English

spinner

Spinner comes from Middle English spynnere ‘a spinner’, from spinnen ‘to spin or convert fibre into yarn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pénh₁-ne-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pénh₁-ne-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spinnaną2‘to spin’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spinnan3‘to spin’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150spinnan4‘to spin’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spinnen5‘to spin or convert fibre into yarn’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spynnere6‘a spinner’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1869spinner6

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *spinnaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *spinnan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English spinnan
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Middle English spinnen
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Middle English spynnere
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English spinner
  7. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: “I soon found it necessary not only to brush…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pénh₁-ne-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *spinnanąreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spinnanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *spinnan‘to spin’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spinnanWiktionary, Old English spinnan‘to spin’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150spinnanWiktionary, Middle English spinnen‘to spin’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spinnenWiktionary, Middle English spynnere‘to spin or convert fibre into yarn’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spynnereWiktionary, English spinner‘a spinner’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1869spinnerWiktionary, English spinner. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: “I soon found it necessary not only to brush…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *spinnaną ‘to spin’

span, spider, 1 more

through Proto-West Germanic *spinnan ‘to spin’

spindle, spinel

through Middle English spinnen ‘to spin or convert fibre into yarn’

spinster, 1 more

Today it means

noun Someone who or something that spins.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spinner”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *spinnaną, Proto-West Germanic *spinnan, Old English spinnan, Middle English spinnen, Middle English spynnere. 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 *(s)pénh₁-ne- / spinner

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