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: sleavedGerund: sleavingImperative Present Preterite Present Continuous Present Perfect Past Continuous Past Perfect Future Future Perfect Future Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Conditional Past Conditional 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