sheath

Meaning

Noun

1. A holster for a sword; a scabbard.
2. (broadly) Anything that has a similar shape to a scabbard that is used to hold an object that is longer than it is wide.
3. The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing a branch or stem, as in grasses.
4. The insulating outer cover of an electrical cable.
5. One of the elytra of an insect.
6. A tight-fitting dress.
7. The foreskin of certain animals (for example, dogs and horses).
8. (British, informal) A condom.

Verb

Alternative spelling of sheathe.

Opposite of

unsheath

Synonyms

scabbard

case

cover

covering

jacket

condom

vagina

envelope

✉️

French letter

rubber

casing

pussy can

American letter

American sock

shell

🐚

cock-sock

skin

raincoat

receptacle

lamina

bark

cocktail dress

knife sheath

ferrule

cot

sheathe

remuneration

rind

robe

roundel

sac

safe

salary

sarong

scutcheon

shield

🛡️

sleeve

spathe

stipend

veer

wage

wages

wrap

wrapper

protective covering

safety

attire

lead-covered

crust tyre

female condom

Translations

fourreau

gaine

guaina

vaina

schede

Scheide

étui

bainha

fodero

beina

θηκάρι

Futteral

vagina

kılıf

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʃiːθ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: sheth

Inherited from Old English: sċēaþ

Cognate with Danish: skede

Cognate with Dutch: schede

Cognate with Icelandic: skeið

Cognate with German: Scheide

Cognate with Low German: scheed

Cognate with Norwegian: skjede

In summary

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.