skein
To weave or wind into a skeinTo weave or wind (thread, yarn, etc.) into a skein (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1).
» Skeins of geese were flying back to the mudflats at sunset.
Gänseschwärme flogen bei Sonnenuntergang zurück ins Watt. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
sundown · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(transitive)To weave or wind (thread, yarn, etc.) into a skein (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1).
(figuratively, transitive)To intertwine or weave (something) with another thing.
Examples
1 sentencesSkeins of geese were flying back to the mudflats at sunset.
deGänseschwärme flogen bei Sonnenuntergang zurück ins Watt. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English skaine, skayne (“quantity of string, thread, etc.,The noun is derived from Middle English skaine, skayne (“quantity of string, thread, etc., wound on a reel; the string, thread, etc., so wound”), from Old French escaigne (modern French écagne, écaigne (Picardy)); further etymology uncertain, probably from Proto-Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to split off”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
skeins, skeining, skeined, skeinedWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.