English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) skean

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

• gaggle
• wedge

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

• (common): skeina

Declension

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

• skinte

Verb

skein

1. simple past of skinne