sheath
[sheeth]
- a case or covering for the blade of a sword, dagger, or the like.
- any similar close-fitting covering or case.
- a condom.
- Biology. a closely enveloping part or structure, as in an animal or plant.
- Botany. the leaf base when it forms a vertical coating surrounding the stem.
- a close-fitting dress, skirt, or coat, especially an unbelted dress with a straight drape.
- Electricity. the metal covering of a cable.
- Electronics.
- the metal wall of a wave guide.
- a space charge formed by ions near an electrode in a tube containing low-pressure gas.
- the region of a space charge in a cathode-ray tube.
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- to sheathe.
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Origin of sheath
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sheath
Contemporary Examples
The first lady wore a Michael Kors sheath with a matching cropped jacket and traditional pearls.
I learned from those articles, lessons about rhythm and pacing and when to stick the dagger in and when to sheath it.
I took off the sheath, the holster, so to speak, of the taser and I loaded the taser.
But Victoria Beckham likes a sheath so perfectly fitted that you might as well brace yourself for a diet based solely on refusal.
The sheath surrounding the nerves acts as an electrical insulator, increasing neural speed by 100-fold.
Historical Examples
What make you, Alleyne, of these black lines which are drawn across the sheath?
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
And drawing his knife from its sheath, he flung it down at my feet.
Green MansionsW. H. Hudson
Sheath your swords, comrades; after all, it is no affair of ours.
Fair MargaretH. Rider Haggard
He drew his short sword from its sheath, and scratched a deep mark in the gravel.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
He tried to draw it, failed, and looking all along the sheath, saw its condition.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
sheath
- a case or covering for the blade of a knife, sword, etc
- any similar close-fitting case
- biology an enclosing or protective structure, such as a leaf base encasing the stem of a plant
- the protective covering on an electric cable
- a figure-hugging dress with a narrow tapering skirt
- another name for condom
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- (tr) another word for sheathe
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Word Origin
Old English scēath; related to Old Norse skeithir, Old High German sceida a dividing; compare Old English scādan to divide
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sheath
n.
Old English sceað, scæð, from Proto-Germanic *skaithiz (cf. Old Saxon scethia, Old Norse skeiðir (plural), Old Frisian skethe, Middle Dutch schede, Dutch schede, Old High German skaida, German scheide "a sheath, scabbard"), according to OED, possibly from root *skei- "divide, split" (see shed (v.)) on notion of a split stick with the sword blade inserted. Meaning "condom" is recorded from 1861; sense of "close-fitting dress or skirt" is attested from 1904.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sheath
(shēth)- An enveloping tubular structure, such as the tissue that encloses a muscle or nerve fiber.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
sheath
[shēth]
- 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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.