thimble: [OE] A thimble is etymologically a ‘thumb implement’. The word goes back to Old English thymel, a derivative of thūma ‘thumb’. In Old English (where it is recorded only once) it was used for a ‘finger-stall’. By the time it reappears in the 15th century we find it being applied to a ‘leather finger-protector used for pushing in a needle’, and it was extended to metal thimbles, introduced in the 17th century. => thumb
thimble (n.)
Old English þymel "sheath or covering for the thumb," from thuma (see thumb (n.)) + -el (1), used in forming names of instruments (compare handle). Excrescent -b- began mid-15c. (compare humble, nimble). Originally of leather, metal ones came into use 17c. Related: Thimbleful. Thimblerig, con game played with three thimbles and a pea or button, is attested from 1825 by this name, though references to thimble cheats, probably the same swindle, date back to 1716 (see rig (v.)).
双语例句
1. She put a thimble over the finger when sewing.
缝纫时,她在手上戴一枚顶针.
来自《简明英汉词典》
2. Won't, you see me had been bought, nuo, thimble.
不会的, 你看我已经买来了, 喏, 顶针儿.
来自互联网
3. When it's raining gold reach for a bucket, not a thimble.
当天上掉金子时,要拿桶而不是套管去接.
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4. She says she will do that to you , Wendy, every time I give you a thimble.
彼得给了她一顶针, 差不多就在同时, 她尖叫了起来.
来自互联网
5. An acceptable thimble is metal and fits snugly on the middle finger of the needle - holding hand.
