sheath

[sheeth]

noun

plural

sheaths 

1. a case or covering for the blade of a sword, dagger, or the like.

2. any similar close-fitting covering or case.

3. a condom.

4. Biology.,  a closely enveloping part or structure, as in an animal or plant.

5. Botany.,  the leaf base when it forms a vertical coating surrounding the stem.

6. a close-fitting dress, skirt, or coat, especially an unbelted dress with a straight drape.

7. Electricity.,  the metal covering of a cable.

8. Electronics.

   1. the metal wall of a wave guide.

   2. a space charge formed by ions near an electrode in a tube containing low-pressure gas.

   3. the region of a space charge in a cathode-ray tube.

verb (used with object)

1. to sheathe.

sheath

/ ʃiːθ /

noun

1. a case or covering for the blade of a knife, sword, etc

2. any similar close-fitting case

3. biology an enclosing or protective structure, such as a leaf base encasing the stem of a plant

4. the protective covering on an electric cable

5. a figure-hugging dress with a narrow tapering skirt

6. another name for condom

verb

1. (tr) another word for sheathe

sheath

1. An enveloping tubular structure, such as the base of a grass leaf that surrounds the stem or the tissue that encloses a muscle or nerve fiber.

Other Word Forms

• sheathless adjective
• sheathlike adjective
• sheathy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sheath¹

before 950; Middle English s ( c ) heth ( e ), Old English scēath; cognate with German Scheide; shed ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of sheath¹

Old English scēath; related to Old Norse skeithir, Old High German sceida a dividing; compare Old English scādan to divide

Example Sentences

"He was subsequently stopped and a small sickle, a large dagger which was in a sheath on a belt, and a peeling knife, were seized," the force said.

Read more on BBC

Frankly, Aidan’s behavior is far more concerning than Wyatt’s, a flag so big and red that Carrie could make a stunning sheath dress out of it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Investigators linked Kohberger to the murder through cell phone data, surveillance video, and DNA on a knife sheath at the crime scene.

Read more on Salon

The defendant was arrested at his Pennsylvania family home weeks following the stabbings, after investigators said they found DNA evidence on a "leather knife sheath" at the crime scene.

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It requires a level of physical brain development called mylenation — the growth of fatty sheaths that wrap around nerve cells, insulating them and allowing information to travel more quickly and efficiently through the brain.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• covering