Sheaf definition

shēf
sheafs sheaves
See word origin
Frequency:
A collection of things gathered together; bundle, as of papers.
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A quantity of the stalks and ears of wheat, rye, or other grain, bound together; a bundle of grain or straw.
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Any collection of things bound together; a bundle.

A sheaf of paper.

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A bundle of arrows sufficient to fill a quiver, or the allowance of each archer.
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A quantity of arrows, usually twenty-four.
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(mechanical) A sheave.
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(mathematics) An abstract construct in topology that associates data to the open sets of a topological space, together with well-defined restrictions from larger to smaller open sets, subject to the condition that compatible data on overlapping open sets corresponds, via the restrictions, to a unique datum on the union of the open sets.
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To gather and bind into a sheaf; to make into sheaves; as, to sheaf wheat.
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(intransitive) To collect and bind cut grain, or the like; to make sheaves.
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A bundle of cut stalks of grain or similar plants bound with straw or twine.
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A collection of items held or bound together.

A sheaf of printouts.

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An archer's quiver.
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To gather and bind into a bundle.
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A bunch of cut stalks of grain, etc. bound up in a bundle.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
sheaf
Plural:
sheaves1, sheafs

Origin of sheaf

  • Middle English sheef from Old English scēaf

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old English sceaf, from Proto-Germanic. Akin to German Schaub, Old Norse skauf (“a fox's tail"). Compare Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍆𐍄 (skuft, “hair of the head"), German Schopf (“tuft"), Albanian çup (“without tail, maimed").

    From Wiktionary

Sheaf Sentence Examples

  • He lifted a sheaf of papers.

  • The first-fruits of the harvest here take the form of a sheaf which is waved by the priest before Yahweh.

  • The suggestion that the eating of cakes of unleavened bread, similar to the Australian "damper," was due to the exigencies of the harvest does not meet the case, since it does not explain the seven days and is incongruous with the fact that the first sheaf of the harvest was put to the sickle not earlier than the third day of the feast.

  • Weller ignored the question and handed Dean a sheaf of papers.

  • The apparent gathering together of the sheaf into a fine and well-defined stream is an effect of singular beauty.

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Words near sheaf in the Dictionary