skein

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English

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yarn skeins (1)
a skein of geese (5)

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English skayne, from Old French escaigne (Modern French écagne), probably of Proto-Celtic origin, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (to split off). Compare Irish scáinne (skein, clew).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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skein (plural skeins)

  1. A quantity of yarn, thread, etc. put up together in an oblong shape, 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.
    Coordinate term: hank
  2. (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.
  3. (zoology) The membrane of a fish ovary.
  4. (wagonmaking) A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
    • 1862, T. Hughes, History of the US:
      One of the free-state settlers went to the blacksmith's shop unarmed, carrying a waggon skein to be repaired.
  5. (zoology, UK, dialect, collective) A group of wild fowl (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.
    Coordinate terms: gaggle, wedge
    • 2018, Laurence Rose, The Long Spring, Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 111:
      High above the swallows and 2 miles or so out into the Channel was a skein of geese, probably brent geese on the first day of their emigration from the estuaries of the Channel coast towards the high Arctic tundra of Spitsbergen or Russia.
  6. (sports) A winning streak.
  7. (radio, television, dated) A series created by a web (major broadcasting network).
    • 1950, Billboard, volume 62, number 9:
      All three tele skeins are pitching furiously to snag the super Easter Day tele show to be bankrolled by Frigidaire, []
    • 1963, Radio Television Daily, volume 93, page 5:
      Three comedy shows from the U. S. are in the CTV lineup: CBSTV's Phil Silvers and Danny Thomas skeins and NBC-TV's "Harry's Girls."

Translations

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Verb

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

  1. To wind or weave into a skein.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Faroese

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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skein f (genitive singular skeinar, plural skeinir)

  1. (kvæði) scratch, small wound

Declension

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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
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Verb

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skein

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

Icelandic

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Verb

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skein

  1. first-person singular past active indicative of skína
  2. third-person singular past active indicative of skína
  3. second-person singular active imperative of skeina

Norwegian Bokmål

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Alternative forms

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Verb

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skein

  1. simple past of skinne

Anagrams

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Verb

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skein

  1. past of skina

Old Norse

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Verb

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skein

  1. first/third-person singular past active indicative of skína