sheave

English

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sheave¹

  • /ʃiːv/

Rhymes with -iːv

Where it comes from

From Middle English, from a Germanic base akin to German Scheibe, late Old Norse skífa (“slice”), all ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to split”). For more see shive.

noun sheaves

  1. A wheel having a groove in the rim for a rope to work in, and set in a block, mast, or similar; the wheel of a pulley. To an exceptional degree the duties on these inclines have been passed on from father to son; many a boy has begun his working life in oiling the sheaves and, after passing through every grade, has reached the age of retirement in the responsible position of brakesman.
  2. A sliding scutcheon for covering a keyhole.

sheave²

  • /ʃiːv/

Rhymes with -iːv

Where it comes from

See sheaf.

verb sheaves · sheaving · sheaved

  1. To gather and bind into a sheaf. From him did forty million serfs (...) receive Rich freeborn lifelong land, whereon to sheave Their country's harvest.

Translations

Every language

noun wheel having a groove

Españolroldana
한국어도르래 바퀴 doreurae bakwi
Portuguêsroldana
Françaisréa
DeutschScheibe, Laufrolle, Seilscheibe, Umlenkrolle, Rolle
Русскийро́лик rólik, шкив škiv

verb to bind into a bundle

Deutschbündeln

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MLA

"sheave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sheave. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sheave. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sheave

Chicago

"sheave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sheave.

BibTeX
@misc{sheave_2026,
  title = {sheave},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sheave},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}