Sheath

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sheath \Sheath\, n. [OE. schethe, AS. sc[=ae][eth],
     sce['a][eth], sc[=e][eth]; akin to OS. sk[=e][eth]ia, D.
     scheede, G. scheide, OHG. sceida, Sw. skida, Dan. skede,
     Icel. skei[eth]ir, 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The dead knight's sword out of his sheath he drew.
                                                    --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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) (Zool.) One of the elytra of an insect.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     {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}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sheath
       n 1: a protective covering for a knife or sword
       2: an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or
          plant organ or part [syn: {case}]
       3: a dress suitable for formal occasions [syn: {cocktail dress}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  31 Moby Thesaurus words for "sheath":
     Leatherette, Leatheroid, case, casing, coat, cuticle, dermis,
     encasement, fell, fleece, flesh, fur, furring, hide, imitation fur,
     imitation leather, integument, jacket, leather, leather paper,
     outer layer, outer skin, pelt, peltry, rawhide, rind, sheathing,
     skin, skins, tegument, vair