Hypertext Webster Gateway: "sheath"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheath \Sheath\, n. [OE. schethe, AS. sc[=ae][eth],
sce['a][eth], sc[=e][eth]; akin to OS. sk[=e][eth]ia, D.
scheede, G. scheide, OHG. sceida, Sw. skida, Dan. skede,
Icel. skei[eth]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["o]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}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
sheath
n 1: a protective covering for a knife or sword
2: an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or
plant organ or part [syn: {case}]
3: a dress suitable for formal occasions [syn: {cocktail dress}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.