steek meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

steek

verb

/stiːk/

Etymology From Scots steek, from Middle English steke (“to enclose”) and Middle Dutch steken (“to stitch”). Noun from Scots steek (“stitch”), from Middle Dutch steek (“stitch”). More at stick, stitch.

To stitch (sew with a needle).

To shut or close.

Business, Knitting, Manufacturing, Textiles To use a technique for knitting garments such as sweaters in the round without interruption for openings or sleeves until the end.

steek

noun

Scotland A stitch.

Ake Ogilvie told the tale the next day to Ma Cleghorn, Ma lying at rest in her bed, she'd gone to bed with a steek in her side and as lying fair wearied till Ake looked in.1934, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Grey Granite (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 565:

Business, Knitting, Manufacturing, Textiles The bridge of extra stitches used in the steeking technique.