Thread

Thread Thread (thr[e^]d), n. [OE. threed, [thorn]red, AS. [thorn]r[=ae]d; akin to D. draad, G. draht wire, thread, OHG. dr[=a]t, Icel. [thorn]r[=a][eth]r a thread, Sw. tr[*a]d, Dan. traad, and AS. [thorn]r[=a]wan to twist. See {Throw}, and cf. {Third}.] 1. A very small twist of flax, wool, cotton, silk, or other fibrous substance, drawn out to considerable length; a compound cord consisting of two or more single yarns doubled, or joined together, and twisted; also, one fiber of a cord composed of multiple fibers. [1913 Webster]

2. A filament of any substance, as of glass, gold or silver; a filamentous part of an object, such as a flower; a component fiber of any or of any fibrous substance, as of bark. [1913 Webster]

3. The prominent part of the spiral of a screw or nut; the rib. See {Screw}, n., 1. [1913 Webster]

4. (Fig.) Something continued in a long course or tenor; a recurrent theme or related sequence of events in a larger story; as the thread of a story, or of life, or of a discourse. --Bp. Burnet. [1913 Webster]

5. Fig.: Composition; quality; fineness. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

A neat courtier, Of a most elegant thread. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]

6. (Computers) A related sequence of instructions or actions within a program that runs at least in part independent of other actions within the program; -- such threads are capable of being executed only in oprating systems permittnig multitasking. [PJC]

7. (Computers) A sequence of messages posted to an on-line newsgroup or discussion group, dealing with the same topic; -- messages in such a thread typically refer to a previous posting, thus allowing their identification as part of the thread. Some news-reading programs allow a user to follow a single such thread independent of the other postings to that newsgroup. [PJC]

{Air thread}, the fine white filaments which are seen floating in the air in summer, the production of spiders; gossamer.

{Thread and thrum}, the good and bad together. [Obs.] --Shak.

{Thread cell} (Zo["o]l.), a lasso cell. See under {Lasso}.

{Thread herring} (Zo["o]l.), the gizzard shad. See under {Gizzard}.

{Thread lace}, lace made of linen thread.

{Thread needle}, a game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still holding his neighbor, runs between the others; -- called also {thread the needle}. [1913 Webster]