SHEATHS

Noun

sheaths

plural of sheath

Source: Wiktionary


SHEATH

Sheath, n. Etym: [OE. schethe, AS. scæedh, sceáedh, sceedh; akin to OS. skeedhia, D. scheede, G. scheide, OHG. sceida, Sw. skida, Dan. skede, Icel. skeiedhir, 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. The dead knight's sword out of his sheath he drew. Spenser.

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) (Zoöl.) One of the elytra of an insect. 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

5 March 2025

PROGRESSIVISM

(noun) the political orientation of those who favor progress toward better conditions in government and society


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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