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skein

 - 3 dictionary results

skein

  [skeyn]
–noun
1. a length of yarn or thread wound on a reel or swift preparatory for use in manufacturing.
2. anything wound in or resembling such a coil: a skein of hair.
3. something suggestive of the twistings of a skein: an incoherent skein of words.
4. a flock of geese, ducks, or the like, in flight.
5. a succession or series of similar or interrelated things: a skein of tennis victories.
Use skein in a Sentence
Origin:
1400–50; late ME skeyne, skayne < MF escaigne < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To skein
skein   (skān)   
n.  

    1. A length of thread or yarn wound in a loose long coil.

    2. Something suggesting the coil of a skein; a complex tangle: a twisted skein of lies.

  2. A flock of geese or similar birds in flight. See Synonyms at flock1.


[Middle English skeine, from Old French escaigne.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

skein 
c.1440, from M.Fr. escaigne "a hank of yarn," from O.Fr. escagne (1354), of uncertain origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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