skein

Meaning

Noun

1. A quantity of yarn, thread, etc. put up together in an oblong shape, after it is taken from the reel. A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread around a fifty-four inch reel.
2. (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.
3. The membrane of a fish ovary.
4. A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
5. (UK, collective, dialectal) A group of wild fowl (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.
6. A winning streak.
7. (dated) A series created by a web (major broadcasting network).

Verb

To wind or weave into a skein.

Synonyms

hank

coil

flock

real

herd

ball

gaggle

bevy

bike

🚲

boar

🐗

brace

brood

building

bunch

bury

business

busyness

cartload

chowder

circle

⭕

clamour

cloud

☁️

cluster

clutter

coalition

colony

comfort

company

corps

covey

drift

drove

erst

exaltation

family

👪

field

flight

✈️

flush

grist

gulp

harem

hasp

hive

intrigue

kennel

kindle

knot

🪢

lea

leash

maze

Translations

écheveau

matassa

madeja

Strang

🧵

stormo

Strähne

κουβάρι

çile

madeixa

🔒

vendel

meada

knot

🪢

matasse

Schwarm

Schule

🏫

Pronounced as (IPA)

/skeɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: skayne

Cognate with French: écagne

Cognate with Irish: scáinne

In summary

From Middle English skayne, from Old French escaigne (Modern French écagne), probably of Proto-Celtic origin, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to split off”). Compare Irish scáinne (“skein, clew”).