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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.]