View synonyms for skein

skein

[ skeyn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a length of yarn or thread wound on a reel or swift preparatory for use in manufacturing.
anything wound in or resembling such a coil:
a skein of hair.
something suggestive of the twistings of a skein:
an incoherent skein of words.
a flock of geese, ducks, or the like, in flight.
a succession or series of similar or interrelated things:
a skein of tennis victories.

skein

/ skeɪn /

Origin of skein¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English skeyne, skayne, from Middle French escaigne; further origin unknown

Origin of skein¹

C15: from Old French escaigne, of unknown origin

Murray doesn't draw any at all, and doesn't seem even to be aware that any such skein is required.

It was a part of himself, woven unchangeably into his life in a glowing skein, the brilliant colors of which could never fade.

Nevertheless, if the skein of ideas was entangled, each thread in itself was a thread of gold.

The spinning wheel stands against the wall and above it from a peg hangs a heavy skein of black wool.

But the Seine was but a skein of silk stretched across the city; the water was hidden by the craft.

Sometimes I dye one end of a skein, and leave the other untouched; that gives quite a good effect.

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