skein

/skeɪn/

//skeɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"skein" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skein” is uncommon English (frequency #64,009 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,009
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A quantity of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a reel then removed and loosely knotted into an oblong shape; a skein of cotton is formed by eighty turns of thread around a reel with a fifty-four inch d...

Corpus desk

Index EN-skein · skein · English

skein · rank #64,009 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,009
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skilling

Nearest frequency peer: skilling (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “skein”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “skein” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for skein
PropertyValue
Headwordskein
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skeɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#64,009
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “skein” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).skeinfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “skilling” (#64,010), “sintering” (#64,007), “slammer” (#64,012). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skein” is #64,009. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

skein is uncommon English at frequency #64,009 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /skeɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for skein in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English skaine, skayne (“quantity of string, thread, etc., wound on a reel; the string, thread, etc., so wound”), from Old French escaigne (modern French écagne, écaigne (Picardy)); further etymology uncertain, probably from … The correct English form is skein, spelled S-K-E-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A quantity of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a reel then removed and loosely knotted into an oblong shape; a skein of cotton is formed by eighty turns of thread around a reel with a fifty-four inch diameter.
  2. 2
    A thing resembling a skein (noun etymology 1 sense 1) of thread, yarn, etc.
  3. 3
    A thing resembling a skein (noun etymology 1 sense 1) of thread, yarn, etc.
  4. 4
    A thing resembling a skein (noun etymology 1 sense 1) of thread, yarn, etc.
  5. 5
    A tangle, a weave, a web.
  6. 6
    A winning streak.
  7. 7
    A series created by a web (“major broadcasting network”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how skein appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Some for very nede / Layde downe a skeyne of threde, / And some a skeyne of yarne; […]
  2. Reche me that skane of tewly sylk; / And, Wynde me that botowme of such an hew, / Grene, rede, tawny, whyte, blak, purpill, and blew.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English skaine, skayne (“quantity of string, thread, etc., wound on a reel; the string, thread, etc., so wound”), from Old French escaigne (modern French écagne, écaigne (Picardy)); further etymology uncertain, probably from Proto-Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to split off”). The verb is derived from noun. cognates * Irish scáinne (“skein, clew”)

This word in other languages

lina(Español)écheveau(Français)Gebinde(Deutsch)meada(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "skein"?
"skein" is spelled S-K-E-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /skeɪn/.
What does "skein" mean?
As a noun, "skein" means: A quantity of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a reel then removed and loosely knotted into an oblong shape; a skein of cotton is formed by eighty turns of thread around a reel with a fifty-four inch d...
How do you pronounce "skein"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skein" is /skeɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "skein"?
The noun is derived from Middle English skaine, skayne (“quantity of string, thread, etc., wound on a reel; the string, thread, etc., so wound”), from Old French escaigne (modern French écagne, écaigne (Picardy)); further etymology uncertain, prob... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "skein", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Shi'a#63,995stele#64,034sealy#63,983Schon#63,979

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list