means Small loops or knots made with thread — by a needle in cloth, or by a surgeon closing a wound — used to bind two edges together until they hold on their own.

from From Old English 'stice,' meaning a prick, puncture, or sharp stab — the same word that gives us the sudden pain of a 'stitch' in your side after running. It traces back to a Proto-Germanic root tied to piercing and sticking, a cousin of 'stick' and 'stitch' alike. The thread came later: first the jab of the needle, then the loop it leaves behind. So every stitch still carries the memory of a tiny wound, neatly sewn shut.