# yarn

> English word · Noun · IPA /jɑːn/ · frequency rank #13,082

## Definitions
1. A twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.
2. Bundles of fibres twisted together, and which in turn are twisted in bundles to form strands, which in their turn are twisted or plaited to form rope.
3. A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible.

## Etymology
From Middle English yarne, ȝern, yarn, from the Old English ġearn (“yarn, spun wool”), from Proto-West Germanic *garn, from Proto-Germanic *garną (“yarn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰorn-, *ǵʰerH- (“tharm, guts, intestines”).
Cognates
Akin to West Frisian jern, Dutch garen (“yarn”), German Garn (“yarn”), Danish garn, Swedish garn (“yarn, thread”), Icelandic garn (“yarn”), Latin hernia (“rupture”), Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string”), Sanskrit हिर (hira, “band”). Compare also the obsolete doublet garn.

## Easily confused with
- **yr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yr)
- **yay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yay)
- **yen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yen)
- **yrs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yrs)
- **yer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yer)
- **yin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yin)
- **Yun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yun)
- **yaw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yaw)
- **yon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yon)
- **yas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yas)
- **yat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yat)
- **Yau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yau)
- **year** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-year)
- **york** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-york)
- **yuan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yuan)
- **Yuri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yuri)
- **Yoon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yoon)
- **yawn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yawn)
- **yaya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yaya)
- **Yuen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yarn-vs-yuen)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ayrn`, `yanr`, `yarnn`, `yarrn`, `yyarn`

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