sheaf

Meaning

Noun

1. A quantity of the stalks and ears of wheat, rye, or other grain, bound together; a bundle of grain or straw.
2. Any collection of things bound together.
3. A bundle of arrows sufficient to fill a quiver, or the allowance of each archer.
4. A quantity of arrows, usually twenty-four.
5. A sheave.
6. An abstract construct in topology that associates data to the open sets of a topological space (i.e. a presheaf) in such a way so as to make the local and global data compatible, generalizing the situation of functions, fiber bundles, manifold structure, etc. on a topological space. Formally, a presheaf ℱ whose sections are, in a technical sense, uniquely determined by their restrictions onto smaller sets: that is, given an open cover U_i of U:
7. An abstract construct in topology that associates data to the open sets of a topological space (i.e. a presheaf) in such a way so as to make the local and global data compatible, generalizing the situation of functions, fiber bundles, manifold structure, etc. on a topological space. Formally, a presheaf ℱ whose sections are, in a technical sense, uniquely determined by their restrictions onto smaller sets: that is, given an open cover U_i of U:

Verb

1. To gather and bind into a sheaf; to make into sheaves
2. To collect and bind cut grain, or the like; to make sheaves.

Synonyms

bundle

bunch

cluster

coil

bale

faggot

truss

package

📦

stack

packet

wisp

parcel

quiver

sheaves

tuft

bundle of grass

small bundle

small sheaf

batch

beam

binding

caboodle

clump

collection

dossier

ear

👂

fagot

pack

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʃiːf/

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”).