# sheathe

> English word · Verb · IPA /ʃiːð/

## Definitions
1. To put (something such as a knife or sword) into a sheath.
2. To encase (something) with a protective covering.
3. Of an animal: to draw back or retract (a body part) into the body, such as claws into a paw.
4. To thrust (a sharp object like a sword, a claw, or a tusk) into something.
5. To abandon or cease (animosity, etc.)
6. To provide (a sword, etc.) with a sheath.
7. To relieve the harsh or painful effect of (a drug, a poison, etc.).

## 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).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sheathe