unskein

English

Etymology

From skein.

Verb

unskein (third-person singular simple present unskeins, present participle unskeining, simple past and past participle unskeined)

1. To unwind from a skein
   • 2003, Kay Armatage, The Girl from God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent, page 56:

     "Jess ... is assisting the hostess to unskein yarn and wind into a ball"

2. To unfurl, as if from a skein
   • 1865, American Newspaper‎^[1]:

     "In the sunshine his [Custer's] locks unskeined, stream a foot behind him"