Hypertext Webster Gateway: "sheaves"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheaf \Sheaf\, n.; pl. {Sheaves}. [OE. sheef, shef, schef, AS.
sce['a]f; akin to D. schoof, OHG. scoub, G. schaub, Icel.
skauf a fox's brush, and E. shove. See {Shove}.]
1. A quantity of the stalks and ears of wheat, rye, or other
grain, bound together; a bundle of grain or straw.
The reaper fills his greedy hands, And binds the
golden sheaves in brittle bands. --Dryden.
2. Any collection of things bound together; a bundle;
specifically, a bundle of arrows sufficient to fill a
quiver, or the allowance of each archer, -- usually
twenty-four.
The sheaf of arrows shook and rattled in the case.
--Dryden.
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