sheath

Etymology 1

From Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms], 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). The English word is cognate with Danish skede, Dutch schede, Icelandic skeið, German Scheide, Low German scheed, Norwegian skjede.

noun

1. A holster for a sword; a scabbard.
2. (by extension) Anything that has a similar shape to a scabbard that is used to hold an object that is longer than it is wide.
3. (botany) The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing a branch or stem, as in grasses.
4. (electrical engineering) The insulating outer cover of an electrical cable.
5. (entomology) One of the elytra of an insect.
6. (fashion) A tight-fitting dress.
7. (zoology) The foreskin of certain animals (for example, dogs and horses).
8. (Britain, informal) A condom.

Etymology 2

A variant of sheathe.

verb

1. Alternative spelling of sheathe
   And the poet lifts his pen While the soldier sheaths his sword. 1972, “Thick As A Brick”, Ian Anderson (lyrics), performed by Jethro Tull