Repaired (a hole in fabric) by sewing; also a mild exclamation or substitute swear word, as in 'darned if I know.'
From 'darn,' possibly from 'damn' (a euphemism) or from 'darne' meaning a piece of cloth. Used since the 1700s as both a sewing term and mild curse substitute.
Before washing machines and fast fashion, darning socks was a regular household chore—entire stories and poems are about the meditative act of mending clothes that people now just throw away!
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