sleeve

Meaning

Noun

1. The part of a garment that covers the arm.
2. A (usually tubular) covering or lining to protect a piece of machinery etc.
3. A protective jacket or case, especially for a record, containing art and information about the contents; also the analogous leaflet found in a packaged CD.
4. A tattoo covering the whole arm.
5. A narrow channel of water.
6. Sleave; untwisted thread.
7. A serving of beer smaller than a pint, typically measuring between 12 and 16 ounces.
8. A long, cylindrical plastic bag of cookies or crackers, or a similar package of disposable drinking cups.
9. A double tube of copper into which the ends of bare wires are pushed so that when the tube is twisted an electrical connection is made. The joint thus made is called a McIntire joint.

Verb

1. To fit and attach a sleeve to an upper garment (e.g. to a shirt, blouse, sweater, jacket, coat, etc.) or to a folder.
2. To hide something up one's sleeve.

Synonyms

arm

socket

jacket

cylindrical lining

bushing

handle

cover

muff

mantle

nozzle

quill

sheath

sleeves

sleeving

socks

🧦

tube

jacketing

branch pipe

connecting branch

branch tube

pipe branch

telescopic shaft

3

telescopic axle

barrel

bell

🔔

cannula

collet

cowl

grommet

hose

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sliːv/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: sleve

Inherited from Old English: slīef

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Sleeuwe

Cognate with Western Frisian: slúf

Cognate with Dutch: sloof

Cognate with Low German: sluve

Cognate with German: Schlaube

In summary

From Middle English sleve, slefe, from Old English slīef and slīefe (“sleeve”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sleeuwe (“sleeve”), West Frisian slúf, Dutch sloof (“apron”), Low German sluve, dialectal German Schlaube.
The Canadian sense of “measure smaller than a pint” is due to a former conflict between federal law and provincial law in British Columbia. According to federal law, a pint must be 20 imperial ounces (~568 ml), but according to provincial law at the time, the maximum individual serving size was 500 ml, so an individual portion could not be called a “pint” in British Columbia, and required a different term. The provincial law has been changed, allowing servings of up to 24 oz (~682 ml), but the term remains in use. The term sleeve itself for a cylindrical glass of beer is also found in the UK and Australia (as sleever), and may be due to stacked glasses resembling a sleeve.