(s)neh₁-
“to spin thread, to wind”thread/spin
PIE root meaning to spin thread or wind fiber, with an s-mobile prefix. Ancestral to words for spinning, needlework, and thread-making.
Discussion
*(s)neh₁- is a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to spin thread" or "to wind fiber," featuring the characteristic s-mobile prefix that alternates freely in PIE.
The root without s-mobile (*neh₁-) gives Latin nēre "to spin" and English needle. With the s-mobile, it yields Old English spinnan (from a nasalized variant), and connects to a wider family of thread and fiber vocabulary. Greek nêma "thread" and nēn "to spin" reflect the base form. Sanskrit snāvan- "sinew, tendon" preserves the s-mobile form with a semantic shift from spun fiber to bodily sinew.
The laryngeal *h₁ produces the long ē grade visible in Latin and Greek. The s-mobile phenomenon—where an initial *s appears optionally—is one of the most debated features of PIE phonology, and this root is a textbook example of the pattern.
Modern reflexes include English sinew (via the s-mobile form), needle (via the plain form), and German Nadel.
Notes
Source of Latin "nēre" (to spin), English "snare". S-mobile prefix variant.