sheath

C1 Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ʃiθ/ UK /ʃiːθ/ See IPA manual

Freq #27151

Meanings

1

noun
a protective covering for a knife or sword

The sword was always kept in a protective sheath.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

covering pod casing

Word family

Forms sheaths

Derived forms astrosheathdesheathexsheathexsheathmentmagnetosheathpresheathrhizosheathsheathbillsheathersheathfishsheathlesssheathlike

Related forms heliosheathresheathresheathesheatheunsheathunsheathe

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sheath knife
a fixed-blade knife carried in a protective cover

Noun + noun

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.

*skey- Proto-Indo-European sheth Middle English sċēaþ Old English *skaiþiju Proto-West Germanic *skaiþiz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas

External links

# sheath

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ʃiθ/
**IPA (UK):** /ʃiːθ/
**Frequency rank:** 27151

## Meanings
1. a protective covering for a knife or sword

## Examples
- The sword was always kept in a protective sheath.

## Synonyms
- covering
- pod
- casing

## Derived Forms
- astrosheath
- desheath
- exsheath
- exsheathment
- magnetosheath
- presheath
- rhizosheath
- sheathbill
- sheather
- sheathfish
- sheathless
- sheathlike

## Related Forms
- heliosheath
- resheath
- resheathe
- sheathe
- unsheath
- unsheathe

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *skey-
- Root: sheth
- Root: sċēaþ
- Root: *skaiþiju
- Root: *skaiþiz

## 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.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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