skean

1 of 2

variants or skeane

less common spellings of skein

skean

2 of 2

noun

ˈskē(-ə)n 

variants or skene

: dagger, dirk

Examples of skean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Didion’s missives were keenly observant, full of language that cut like a skean. —Erin Overbey, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English skene, from Irish scian & Scottish Gaelic sgian, from Old Irish scían; probably akin to Sanskrit chyati he cuts off — more at science

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above