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Webster 1913 Edition


Skein

Skein

,
Noun.
[OE.
skeyne
, OF.
escaigne
, F.
écagne
, probably of Celtic origin; cf. Ir.
sgainne
, Gael.
sgeinnidh
thread, small twine; or perhaps the English word is immediately from Celtic.]
1.
A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel, – usually tied in a sort of knot.
☞ A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread round a fifty-four inch reel.
2.
(Wagon Making)
A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
Knight.

Skein

,
Noun.
(Zool.)
A flight of wild fowl (wild geese or the like).
[Prov. Eng.]

Definition 2024


skein

skein

English

Alternative forms

Noun

skein (plural skeins)

  1. A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel. A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread around a fifty-four inch reel.
  2. (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.
    • 1923, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Creeping Man:
      The practical application of what I have said is very close to the problem which I am investigating. It is a tangled skein, you understand. and I am looking for a loose end.
  3. (zoology) The membrane of a fish ovary.
  4. (wagonmaking) A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
  5. (zoology, provincial England) A group of wild fowl, (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.
  6. (sports) A winning streak.

Translations

See also

Verb

skein (third-person singular simple present skeins, present participle skeining, simple past and past participle skeined)

  1. To wind or weave into a skein

Faroese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /skaiːn/

Noun

skein f (genitive singular skeinar, plural skeinir)

  1. (kvæði) scratch, small wound

Related terms

Declension

Declension of skein
f2 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative skein skeinin skeinir skeinirnar
accusative skein skeinina skeinir skeinirnar
dative skein skeinini skeinum skeinunum
genitive skeinar skeinarinnar skeina skeinanna

Verb

skein

  1. shone, singular past tense form of skína (to shine)

Icelandic

Verb

skein

  1. second-person singular active imperative of skeina

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

Verb

skein

  1. simple past of skinne