sheath
Plural: sheaths
Noun
- a protective covering (as for a knife or sword)
- an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part
- a dress suitable for formal occasions
- A holster for a sword; a scabbard.
- Anything that has a similar shape to a scabbard that is used to hold an object that is longer than it is wide.
- The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing a branch or stem, as in grasses.
- The insulating outer cover of an electrical cable.
- One of the elytra of an insect.
- A tight-fitting dress.
- The foreskin of certain animals (for example, dogs and horses).
- A condom.
Verb
Verb Forms: sheathed, sheathing, sheaths
- To put into a sheath; to encase or cover.
- Alternative spelling of sheathe.
Examples
- He decided to SHEATH his best tiles, waiting for the opportune moment to play them.
Origin / 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.
Synonyms
case, cocktail dress, French letter, Frenchie, Santa sock, balloon, boots, casing, cock sock, condom, contraceptive, cover, covering, cum catcher, dinger, envelope, franger, glove, jim hat, jimmy, jimmy cap, jimmy hat, joey, johnny, johnny bag, love glove, prophylactic, protection, raincoat, rubber, rubber hug, rubber johnny, safe, scumbag, sheath
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 12
sheath: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordsheath: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sheath: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary