Skein

Pronunciation

• enPR: skān, IPA: /skeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Alternative forms

• obsolete skean

Origin

From Middle English skeyne, Old French escaigne, French écagne, probably of Celtic origin, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- ("to split off")

Full definition of skein

Noun

1. A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel. A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread round a fifty-four inch reel.
2. (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.
• 1923, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Creeping Man:The practical application of what I have said is very close to the problem which I am investigating. It is a tangled skein, you understand. and I am looking for a loose end.
3. wagonmaking A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
4. (zoology, provincial England) A group of wild fowl, (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.
5. (sports) A winning streak.