sheathe

== English == === Alternative forms === sheath (obsolete) === Etymology === From Late Middle English shethen (“to put (a sword or knife) into a sheath, sheathe; to provide with a sheath; (figuratively) to have sexual intercourse”) [and other forms], then: probably from Old English *scēaþian; or possibly from Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms] + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Sheth(e) is derived from Old English sċēaþ (“sheath”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþiju, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþiz (“sheath; covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”) (possibly from the notion of a split stick with a sword inserted). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: shēth, IPA(key): /ʃiːð/ (General American) IPA(key): /ʃið/ Rhymes: -iːð === Verb === sheathe (third-person singular simple present sheathes, present participle sheathing, simple past and past participle sheathed) (transitive) To put (something such as a knife or sword) into a sheath. Antonym: unsheathe (transitive) To encase (something) with a protective covering. Antonym: unsheathe (transitive) Of an animal: to draw back or retract (a body part) into the body, such as claws into a paw. Antonym: unsheathe (transitive, dated or literary, poetic, figuratively) To thrust (a sharp object like a sword, a claw, or a tusk) into something. (transitive, obsolete or rare, figuratively) To abandon or cease (animosity, etc.) (transitive, obsolete) To provide (a sword, etc.) with a sheath. (transitive, medicine, obsolete) To relieve the harsh or painful effect of (a drug, a poison, etc.). ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References ===