An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Nadel

by Friedrich Kluge

Nadel, feminine, ‘needle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nâdel, Old High German nâdal, nâdala, feminine; corresponding to Gothic nêþla, Old Icelandic nál, Anglo-Saxon nœ̂dl, feminine, English needle, Dutch naald, Old Saxon nâdla. A common Teutonic form for ‘needle,’ with the suffix þlô- (tlâ-), from the root nê (Radel, literally ‘an instrument for sewing), appearing in Modern High German nähen.