|
Sheath - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
|
Sheath : (noun)
1: a protective covering for a knife or sword
2: an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or
plant organ or part [syn: case]
3: a dress suitable for formal occasions [syn: cocktail dress]
Based on WordNet 2.0
|
|
Sheath : \Sheath\, n. [OE. schethe, AS. sc[=ae][eth],
sce['a][eth], sc[=e][eth]; akin to OS. sk[=e][eth]ia, D.
scheede, G. scheide, OHG. sceida, Sw. skida, Dan. skede,
Icel. skei[eth]ir, pl., and to E. shed, v.t., originally
meaning, to separate, to part. See Shed.]
1. A case for the reception of a sword, hunting knife, or
other long and slender instrument; a scabbard.
The dead knight's sword out of his sheath he drew.
--Spenser.
2. Any sheathlike covering, organ, or part. Specifically:
(a) (Bot.) The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing
a stem or branch, as in grasses.
(b) (Zo["o]l.) One of the elytra of an insect.
Medullary sheath. (Anat.) See under Medullary.
Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma.
Sheath knife, a knife with a fixed blade, carried in a
sheath.
Sheath of Schwann. (Anat.) See Schwann's sheath.
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
|
|
|
|
|
