sheaf

C2 Topic:Plants & Agriculture

US /ʃiːf/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like chief /tʃ/ vs /ʃ/

Freq #75412

Meanings

1

noun
A bundle of cut stalks of grain tied together.

The farmer stacked sheaves of wheat across the field.
2

noun
A bundle of things, such as papers, held together.

She pulled a sheaf of documents from her bag.
3

verb
To gather and tie grain into bundles.

The workers sheafed the harvested wheat before sunset.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a bundle of cut stalks of... bundle

2 noun · a bundle of things, such as... bundle

Word family

Forms sheaves

Derived forms b-sheafcapsheafcosheafeigensheafindsheafsheafificationsheaflesssheaflikesheafwisesheafysubsheafwheatsheaf

From Middle English scheef, from Old English sċēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *skaub, from Proto-Germanic *skauba- (“sheaf”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian skeaf (“sheaf”), Dutch schoof (“sheaf”), German Schaub, Old Norse skauf (“a fox's tail”). Compare further Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍆𐍄 (skuft, “hair of the head”), German Schopf (“tuft”).

scheef Middle English sċēaf Old English *skaub Proto-West Germanic *skauba- Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Plants & Agriculture

External links

# sheaf

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ʃiːf/
**Frequency rank:** 75412

## Meanings
1. A bundle of cut stalks of grain tied together.
2. A bundle of things, such as papers, held together.
3. To gather and tie grain into bundles.

## Examples
- The farmer stacked sheaves of wheat across the field.
- She pulled a sheaf of documents from her bag.
- The workers sheafed the harvested wheat before sunset.

## Derived Forms
- b-sheaf
- capsheaf
- cosheaf
- eigensheaf
- indsheaf
- sheafification
- sheafless
- sheaflike
- sheafwise
- sheafy
- subsheaf
- wheatsheaf

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: scheef
- Root: sċēaf
- Root: *skaub
- Root: *skauba-

## Etymology
From Middle English scheef, from Old English sċēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *skaub, from Proto-Germanic *skauba- (“sheaf”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian skeaf (“sheaf”), Dutch schoof (“sheaf”), German Schaub, Old Norse skauf (“a fox's tail”). Compare further Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍆𐍄 (skuft, “hair of the head”), German Schopf (“tuft”).

## AI Etymology
Sheaf is from Middle English scheef, from Old English sċēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *skaub, from Proto-Germanic *skauba- (“sheaf”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian skeaf (“sheaf”), Dutch schoof (“sheaf”), German Schaub, Old Norse skauf (“a fox's tail”). Compare further Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍆𐍄 (skuft, “hair of the head”), German Schopf (“tuft”). In present-day use, it can mean a bundle of cut stalks of grain tied together, or a bundle of things, such as papers, held together. Derived formations include b-sheaf, capsheaf, cosheaf, eigensheaf, and indsheaf.

## Topics
- Plants & Agriculture

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sheaf

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