different between sheathe vs coat

English

Etymology

From Late Middle English shethen (“to put (a sword or knife) into a sheath, sheathe; to provide with a sheath; (figuratively) to have sexual intercourse”) [and other forms], then:

• probably from Old English *sc?aþian; or
• possibly from Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms] + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Sheth(e) is derived from Old English s??aþ (“sheath”), from Proto-Germanic *skaiþiz (“sheath; covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”) (possibly from the notion of a split stick with a sword inserted).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: sh?th, IPA^(key): /?i?ð/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?ið/
• Rhymes: -i?ð

Verb

sheathe (third-person singular simple present sheathes, present participle sheathing, simple past and past participle sheathed)

1. (transitive) To put (something such as a knife or sword) into a sheath.

   Antonym: unsheathe
2. (transitive) To encase (something) with a protective covering.

   Antonym: unsheathe

   • 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 232]:

     But he could never come up with enough enchantment or dream material to sheathe himself in. It would not cover.

3. (transitive) Of an animal: to draw back or retract (a body part) into the body, such as claws into a paw.

   Antonym: unsheathe
4. (transitive, dated or literary, poetic, figuratively) To thrust (a sharp object like a sword, a claw, or a tusk) into something.
5. (transitive, obsolete or rare, figuratively) To abandon or cease (animosity, etc.)
6. (transitive, obsolete) To provide (a sword, etc.) with a sheath.
7. (transitive, medicine, obsolete) To relieve the harsh or painful effect of (a drug, a poison, etc.).

Conjugation

Alternative forms

• sheath

Derived terms

Translations

References

English

Alternative forms

• cote (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English cote, coate, cotte, from Old French cote, cotte (“outer garment with sleeves”), from Latin cotta (“undercoat, tunic”), from Proto-Germanic *kuttô, *kutt? (“cowl, woolen cloth, coat”), from Proto-Indo-European *g?ewd-, *gud- (“woolen clothes”).

Cognate with Old High German kozza, kozzo (“woolen coat”) (German Kotze (“coarse woolen blanket; woolen cape”)), Middle Low German kot (“coat”), Ancient Greek ?????? (beûdos, “woman's attire”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ko?t/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k??t/
• Rhymes: -??t

Noun

coat (countable and uncountable, plural coats)

1. (countable) An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.^Wp

   • It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.

   • Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. […] Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had little capes or coats or feather boas.

2. (countable) A covering of material, such as paint.^Wp
3. (countable) The fur or feathers covering an animal's skin.^Wp

4. (uncountable, nautical) Canvas painted with thick tar and secured round a mast or bowsprit to prevent water running down the sides into the hold (now made of rubber or leather).
5. (obsolete) A petticoat.

   • a child in coats

6. The habit or vesture of an order of men, indicating the order or office; cloth.
   • 1729, Jonathan Swift, The Grand Question Debated of Hamilton's Bawn

     Men of his coat should be minding their prayers.

   • 1609, William Shakespeare, A Lover's Compaint

     She was sought by spirits of richest coat.

7. A coat of arms.^Wp
8. A coat card.
   • 1656, Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, and Philip Massinger, The Old Law

     Here's a trick of discarded cards of us! We were ranked with coats as long as old master lived.

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: koto

Translations

Verb

coat (third-person singular simple present coats, present participle coating, simple past and past participle coated)

1. (transitive) To cover with a coating of some material.
2. (transitive) To cover like a coat.
3. (transitive, archaic) To clothe.

Translations

Anagrams

• ATOC, CATO, Cato, Cota, TACO, octa, octa-, taco