1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
THIMBLE, an implement for use in sewing, serving as a protective covering for the finger in pushing the needle through the material worked upon. For ordinary purposes the thimble is a bell-shaped cap reaching to the first joint and is usually worn on the middle finger. It is made of silver or other metal, sometimes of horn, ivory or bone. The sail-maker's thimble or " thummel " is a heavy ring, worn on the thumb, with a disc attached which is the part used to press against the needle. The O.E. thymel, from which th…
- Source status
- OCR text aligned to scanned pages
- Pages
- Vol. 26, pp. 850-850