sheath
/ʃiθ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.16 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Anything that has a similar shape to a scabbard that is used to hold an object that is longer than it is wide.
noun
The insulating outer cover of an electrical cable.
noun
Example Sentences
- "Nay, neuer beare me hence, diſpatch me heere: / Here ſheath thy Sword, Ile pardon thee my death: [...]"
- "Sheath your Dagger: / Be angry when you will, it ſhall haue ſcope: [...]"
- "So when the gen'rous Lyon has in ſight / His equal match, he rouſes for the fight; / But when his foe lyes proſtrate on the plain, / He ſheaths his paws, uncurls his angry mane; / And, plea'd with bloudleſs honours of the day, / Walks over, and diſdains th' inglorious Prey, [...]"
- "At Sight of thee, the Villain ſheaths his Sword, / Nor ſcales the Wall, to ſteal the wealthy Hoard."
- "And the poet lifts his pen While the soldier sheaths his sword."
Etymology
From Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms], from Old English sċēaþ (“sheath”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþiju, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþiz (“sheath; covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”) (possibly from the notion of a split stick with a sword inserted). The English word is cognate with Danish skede, Dutch schede, Icelandic skeið, German Scheide, Low German scheed, Norwegian skjede.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʃiθ/
- British English: /ʃiːθ/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.