sleave
Related to sleave: sleeve
sleave
(slēv)n. Archaic
A fine thread or skein of thread.
[From Middle English *sleven, to disentangle, from Old English *slǣfan, to cut, from slāf, past tense of slīfan, to split.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
sleave
(sliːv)n
1. (Knitting & Sewing) a tangled thread
2. (Textiles) a thin filament unravelled from a thicker thread
3. chiefly poetic anything matted or complicated
vb
(Knitting & Sewing) to disentangle (twisted thread, etc)
[Old English slǣfan to divide; related to Middle Low German slēf, Norwegian sleiv big spoon]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
sleave
(sliv)v. sleaved, sleav•ing,
n. v.t.
1. to divide or separate into filaments, as silk.
n. 2. anything matted or raveled.
3. a filament of silk obtained by separating a thicker thread.
4. a silk in the form of such filaments, esp. a floss silk used in embroidery.
[1585–95; Old English -slǣfan (only in tōslǣfan), akin to slīfan to split; compare sliver]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
sleave
Past participle: sleaved
Gerund: sleaving
| Imperative |
|---|
| sleave |
| sleave |
| Present |
|---|
| I sleave |
| you sleave |
| he/she/it sleaves |
| we sleave |
| you sleave |
| they sleave |
| Preterite |
|---|
| I sleaved |
| you sleaved |
| he/she/it sleaved |
| we sleaved |
| you sleaved |
| they sleaved |
| Present Continuous |
|---|
| I am sleaving |
| you are sleaving |
| he/she/it is sleaving |
| we are sleaving |
| you are sleaving |
| they are sleaving |
| Present Perfect |
|---|
| I have sleaved |
| you have sleaved |
| he/she/it has sleaved |
| we have sleaved |
| you have sleaved |
| they have sleaved |
| Past Continuous |
|---|
| I was sleaving |
| you were sleaving |
| he/she/it was sleaving |
| we were sleaving |
| you were sleaving |
| they were sleaving |
| Past Perfect |
|---|
| I had sleaved |
| you had sleaved |
| he/she/it had sleaved |
| we had sleaved |
| you had sleaved |
| they had sleaved |
| Future |
|---|
| I will sleave |
| you will sleave |
| he/she/it will sleave |
| we will sleave |
| you will sleave |
| they will sleave |
| Future Perfect |
|---|
| I will have sleaved |
| you will have sleaved |
| he/she/it will have sleaved |
| we will have sleaved |
| you will have sleaved |
| they will have sleaved |
| Future Continuous |
|---|
| I will be sleaving |
| you will be sleaving |
| he/she/it will be sleaving |
| we will be sleaving |
| you will be sleaving |
| they will be sleaving |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I have been sleaving |
| you have been sleaving |
| he/she/it has been sleaving |
| we have been sleaving |
| you have been sleaving |
| they have been sleaving |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I will have been sleaving |
| you will have been sleaving |
| he/she/it will have been sleaving |
| we will have been sleaving |
| you will have been sleaving |
| they will have been sleaving |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I had been sleaving |
| you had been sleaving |
| he/she/it had been sleaving |
| we had been sleaving |
| you had been sleaving |
| they had been sleaving |
| Conditional |
|---|
| I would sleave |
| you would sleave |
| he/she/it would sleave |
| we would sleave |
| you would sleave |
| they would sleave |
| Past Conditional |
|---|
| I would have sleaved |
| you would have sleaved |
| he/she/it would have sleaved |
| we would have sleaved |
| you would have sleaved |
| they would have sleaved |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011