The DICT Development Group
3 definitions found
for sheath
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Sheath \Sheath\, n. [OE. schethe, AS. sc[=ae][eth],
sce['a][eth], sc[=e][eth]; akin to OS. sk[=e][eth]ia, D.
scheede, G. scheide, OHG. sceida, Sw. skida, Dan. skede,
Icel. skei[eth]ir, pl., and to E. shed, v.t., originally
meaning, to separate, to part. See Shed.]
1. A case for the reception of a sword, hunting knife, or
other long and slender instrument; a scabbard.
[1913 Webster]
The dead knight's sword out of his sheath he drew.
--Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
2. Any sheathlike covering, organ, or part. Specifically:
(a) (Bot.) The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing
a stem or branch, as in grasses.
(b) (Zool.) One of the elytra of an insect.
[1913 Webster]
Medullary sheath. (Anat.) See under Medullary.
Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma.
Sheath knife, a knife with a fixed blade, carried in a
sheath.
Sheath of Schwann. (Anat.) See Schwann's sheath.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 :
sheath
n 1: a protective covering for a knife or sword
2: an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or
plant organ or part [syn: case]
3: a dress suitable for formal occasions [syn: cocktail dress]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :
31 Moby Thesaurus words for "sheath":
Leatherette, Leatheroid, case, casing, coat, cuticle, dermis,
encasement, fell, fleece, flesh, fur, furring, hide, imitation fur,
imitation leather, integument, jacket, leather, leather paper,
outer layer, outer skin, pelt, peltry, rawhide, rind, sheathing,
skin, skins, tegument, vair
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