Meaning

A quantity of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a reel then removed and loosely knotted into an oblong shape; a skein of cotton is formed by eighty turns of thread around a reel with a fifty-four inch diameter..

Definitions by Sense

1. A quantity of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a reel then removed and loosely knotted into an oblong shape; a skein of cotton is formed by eighty turns of thread around a reel with a fifty-four inch diameter.
2. (by extension) A thing resembling a skein (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1) of thread, yarn, etc.
3. A tangle, a weave, a web.
4. A winning streak.
5. A series created by a web (“major broadcasting network”).
6. To weave or wind (thread, yarn, etc.) into a skein (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1).
7. (figurative) To intertwine or weave (something) with another thing.
8. A thin strip of an osier (“long, pliable twig from a plant, usually a willow”) used in basketmaking.

Example Sentences

Some for very nede / Layde downe a skeyne of threde, / And some a skeyne of yarne; […]

Reche me that skane of tewly sylk; / And, Wynde me that botowme of such an hew, / Grene, rede, tawny, whyte, blak, purpill, and blew.

Brau'd in mine ovvne houſe vvith a skeine of thred: / Avvay thou Ragge, thou quantitie, thou remnant, / Or I ſhall ſo be-mete thee vvith thy yard, / As thou ſhalt thinke on prating vvhil'ſt thou liu'ſt: […]

No vvhy art thou then exaſperate, thou idle immaterial skiene of ſleiue ſilke, thou greene ſacenet flap for a ſore eye, thou toſſell of a Prodigals purſe—thou […]

VVhat is ſhe heire to? a braſſe thimble, and / A skeane of brovvn thread?

Suppoſe novv a VVork-houſe for Employment of Poor Children, ſets them to ſpinning of VVorſted.—For every Skein of VVorſted theſe Poor Children Spin, there muſt be a Skein the leſs Spun by ſome poor Family or Perſon that ſpun it before; […] 'tis only the tranſpoſing the Manufacture from Colcheſter to London, and taking the Bread out of the Mouths of the Poor of Eſſex to put it into the Mouths of the Poor of Middleſex.

Knouel, der, oder Kna̔uel, a Bottom or Clevv of Thread or of Yarn, a Hank, a Skain of Yarn or Thread.

The aim of the rope-maker is to unite the strings of a great number of fibres. […] This is done by twisting or twining them together, which causes them to compress each other. […] Consequently, if we pull at this twisted skain, we shall not separate it by drawing one parcel out from among the rest, but the whole fibres will break; and if the distribution of the fibres has been very equable, the skain will be nearly of the same strength in every part.

Word Forms

• skeins
• skain
• skean
• skeining
• skeined

Related Words

When Should You Use Skein?

Use skein when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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