# sew

Pronunciation: say "SOH" US /soʊ/, UK /səʊ/

## Verb

1. To join, fasten, or enclose pieces of fabric or other material by passing thread through them repeatedly with a needle; to do this kind of work.
   - Simple: To use a needle and thread to join cloth or other material, or to stitch something inside it.
   - _Can you sew this button back on my shirt before tonight?_
   - _Few of my friends know how to sew, so they bring their mending to me._

## Verb

2. To drain off the water held in something, such as a pond. *(obsolete)* (pronounced: US say "SOO" /suː/; UK say "SYOO" /sjuː/)
   - Simple: To let the water out of a place such as a pond so it is empty.

## Noun

Pronunciation: US say "SOO" /suː/; UK say "SYOO" /sjuː/

3. A thin soup made by simmering food in water, or a gravy made from the juices of cooked meat. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A thin soup, or a sauce made from the juice of cooked meat.

## Other meanings

- (verb) Of a ship: to be aground, resting on the bottom or the shore rather than floating.

## Origin

**Meaning 1** — From Middle English sewen, from Old English siwian, seowian ('to sew, mend, patch, knit together, unite'), which comes from Proto-Germanic *siwjaną and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *syewh₁- ('to sew'). It is related to Scots sew, Danish and Swedish sy, Polish szyć, Russian шить (šitʹ), Latin suō, and Sanskrit sī́vyati, and also to the English word seam.
**Meaning 2** — A back-formation from sewer ('a drain').
**Meaning 3** — Proto-West Germanic *sauw gave Old English sēaw ("sap, juice"), which became Middle English sew ("broth").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sew (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).