skein

Etymology

The noun comes 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 in Picardy); beyond that the origin is uncertain, though it is probably from Proto-Celtic, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to split off”). The verb comes from the noun. It is cognate with Irish scáinne (“skein, clew”).