skein

  1. Noun.  A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel. A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread round a fifty-four inch reel.
  2. Noun.  (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.
  3. Noun.  (qualifier, wagonmaking) A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
  4. Noun.  (zoology, provincial England) A group of wild fowl, (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.
  5. Noun.  (sports) A winning streak.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.