means A wild plant covered in tiny stinging hairs that prick the skin on contact — though cooked, it loses its sting and becomes edible; as a verb, to nettle someone is to irritate or provoke them.

from From Old English 'netele,' related to Dutch 'netel' and German 'Nessel,' all from a Germanic root possibly tied to an even older idea of twisting or spinning — nettle fibres were once spun into cloth, much like flax. The figurative sense of 'to nettle' (to irritate) grew naturally from the plant's prickle, and the old phrase 'to grasp the nettle' captures the folk wisdom that a firm, bold grip stings less than a timid one.