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Origin and history of stitchery

stitchery(n.)

"needle-work," c. 1600, from stitch (v.) + -ery. OED allows it as a word apparently coined by Shakespeare. "In modern times, the labor or drudgery of sewing" [Century Dictionary, 1889]. Stitch-work is attested by 1848.

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to stitchery

stitch(v.)

c. 1200, stichen, "to stab, pierce, cause pain," also "to unite or ornament (a garment) with stitches;" from stitch (n.). With up (adv.) from c. 1500. The surgical sense is from 1570s. Related: Stitched; stitcher; stitching.

-ery

word-forming element making nouns meaning "place for, art of, condition of, quantity of," from Middle English -erie, from Latin -arius (see -ary). Also sometimes in modern colloquial use "the collectivity of" or "an example of."

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    sewing
    c. 1300, seuinge, "art or practice of sewing; " c. 1400, "sewn work, a piece of work with needle and thread;" verbal noun from sew (v.). By late 14c. as "action of sewing, the making or mending of garments as an act or occupation." Sewing-machine, "machine for stitching fabrics,"
    work
    The meaning "embroidery, stitchery, needlepoint" is from late 14c....
    mend
    c. 1200, "to repair" (clothes, a tool, a building), "remove defects" (from something broken, defaced, deranged, or worn), from a shortened form of Old French amender "correct, set right, make better, improve" (see amend). Meaning "to put right, atone for (faults and errors), amen
    gather
    Old English gadrian, gædrian "unite, agree, assemble; gather, collect, store up" (transitive and intransitive), used of flowers, thoughts, persons; from Proto-Germanic *gaduron "come or bring together, unite" (source also of Old English gæd "fellowship, companionship," gædeling "
    nard
    name of an East Indian plant as well as a precious aromatic unguent prepared from it, c. 1200, from Old French narde (Modern French nard) and directly from Latin nardus, from Greek nardos, a word of borrowed from a Semitic language (compare Hebrew ner'd, plural n'radim; Arabic an
    rand
    1839 in South African English, rant, "rocky ridge overlooking a river valley," from Afrikaans, from Dutch rand "edge, margin, rim," from Proto-Germanic *randaz "edge, rim, crust" (source also of Old English rand "brink, bank," Old High German rant "border or rim of a shield," Ger
    patch
    "piece of cloth used to mend another material," late 14c., pacche, of obscure origin, perhaps a variant of pece, pieche, from Old North French pieche (see piece (n.1)), or from an unrecorded Old English word (Old English had claðflyhte for "a patch"). Meaning "portion of any surf
    discern
    "perceive or recognize the difference or distinction between (two or more things);" also "distinguish (an object) with the eyes, see distinctly, behold;" also "perceive rationally, understand;" late 14c., from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sift
    superficial
    late 14c., in anatomy, "on or at the surface of the skin, external, not deep-seated," from Old French superficial, superficiel and directly from Late Latin superficialis "of or pertaining to a surface," from superficies "surface, upper side, top," from super "above, over" (see su
    factor
    early 15c., "commercial agent, deputy, one who buys or sells for another," from French facteur "agent, representative" (Old French factor, faitor "doer, author, creator"), from Latin factor "doer, maker, performer," in Medieval Latin, "agent," agent noun from past participle stem

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