skein Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun coils of worsted yarn

WordNet

Skein noun
Etymology
OE. skeyne, OF. escaigne, F. écagne, probably of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. sgainne, Gael. sgeinnidh thread, small twine; or perhaps the English word is immediately from Celtic.
Definitions
  1. A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel, -- usually tied in a sort of knot. ✍ A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread round a fifty-four inch reel.
  2. (Wagon Making) A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle. Knight.
Skein noun
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A flight of wild fowl (wild geese or the like). Prov. Eng.

Webster 1913