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sheath

noun

  1. case or covering for any sharp tool such as a sword, knife, scissors, or knitting needles
L327614 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ʃiːθ/ / /ʃiθ/ / /ʃiːð/ / /ʃið/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms], from Old English sċēaþ (“sheath”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþiju, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþiz (“sheath; covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”) (possibly from the notion of a split stick with a sword inserted). The English word is cognate with Danish skede, Dutch schede, Icelandic skeið, German Scheide, Low German scheed, Norwegian skjede.

  1. A holster for a sword; a scabbard.
  2. Anything that has a similar shape to a scabbard that is used to hold an object that is longer than it is wide.
  3. The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing a branch or stem, as in grasses.
  4. The insulating outer cover of an electrical cable.
  5. One of the elytra of an insect.
  6. A tight-fitting dress.
  7. The foreskin of certain animals (for example, dogs and horses).
  8. A condom.

verb

Etymology: A variant of sheathe.

  1. Obsolete spelling of sheathe.

    Nay, neuer beare me hence, diſpatch me heere: / Here ſheath thy Sword, Ile pardon thee my death: [...]

    Sheath your Dagger: / Be angry when you will, it ſhall haue ſcope: [...]