# nettle

> English word · Noun · IPA [ˈnɛɾʊl] · frequency rank #41,276

## Definitions
1. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
2. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
3. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
4. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
5. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
6. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
7. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
8. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
9. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
10. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
11. Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
12. Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
13. Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
14. Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
15. Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
16. Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
17. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
18. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
19. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
20. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
21. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
22. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
23. Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
24. Loosely, anything which causes a similarly stinging rash, such as a jellyfish or sea nettle.

## Etymology
From Middle English netle, netel, from Old English netle, netele, netel, from Proto-West Germanic *natilā (cognate with Old Saxon netila, Middle Dutch netele (modern Dutch netel), German Nessel, Middle Danish nædlæ (“nettle”)), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *natǭ (of unknown origin, perhaps from the same source as net).

## Easily confused with
- **Neale** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/neale-vs-nettle)
- **needle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/needle-vs-nettle)
- **neatly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/neatly-vs-nettle)
- **nestle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nestle-vs-nettle)

## Common misspellings (7)
`enttle`, `netle`, `netlte`, `nettel`, `nettlle`, `nnettle`, `ntetle`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nettle