skein

Definitions

• A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel. A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread around a fifty-four inch reel.
• (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.
• (zoology) The membrane of a fish ovary.
• wagonmaking A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
• (zoology) A group of wild fowl, (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.
• (sports) A winning streak.