sheath : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: sheath	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for sheath
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
sheath n a protective covering (as for a knife or sword) an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part Synonym(s): sheath, case a dress suitable for formal occasions Synonym(s): cocktail dress, sheath
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sheath \Sheath\, n. [OE. schethe, AS. sc[aemac][edh], sce[a0][edh], sc[emac][edh]; akin to OS. sk[emac][edh]ia, D. scheede, G. scheide, OHG. sceida, Sw. skida, Dan. skede, Icel. skei[edh]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[94]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}.