From Middle English schete; partly from Old English sċīete (“a sheet, a piece of linen cloth”); partly from Old English sċēata (“a corner, angle; the lower corner of a sail, sheet”); and Old English sċēat (“a corner, angle”); all from Proto-Germanic *skautijǭ, *skautaz (“corner, wedge, lap”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to throw, shoot, pursue, rush”). Cognate with North Frisian skut (“the fold of a garment, lap, coattail”), West Frisian skoat (“sheet; sail; lap”), Dutch schoot (“the fold of a garment, lap, sheet”), German Low German Schote (“a line from the foot of a sail”), German Schoß (“the fold of a garment, lap”), Danish skød (“lap, skirt”), Icelandic skaut (“the corner of a cloth, a line from the foot of a sail, the skirt or sleeve of a garment, a hood”), Norwegian skaut (“headdress”), Swedish sköt (“sheet”).
A thin bed cloth used as a covering for a mattress or as a layer over the sleeper.
Use the sheets in the hall closet to make the bed.
He fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 10:10-11:
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If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me / In one of those same sheets.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
2
A piece of paper, usually rectangular, that has been prepared for writing, artwork, drafting, wrapping, manufacture of packaging (boxes, envelopes, etc.), and for other uses. The word does not include scraps and irregular small pieces destined to be recycled, used for stuffing or cushioning or paper mache, etc. In modern books, each sheet of paper is typically folded in half, to produce two leaves and four pages. In the absence of folding, "leaf" and "sheet" are equivalent.
A sheet of paper measuring eight and one-half inches wide by eleven inches high is a popular item in commerce.
Paper is designated “20 pound” if a stack (ream) of 500 sheets 22 inches by 17 inches weighs 20 pounds.
3
A flat metal pan, often without raised edge, used for baking.
Place the rolls on the cookie sheet, edges touching, and bake for 10-11 minutes.
4
A thin, flat piece or layer of solid material.
The glazer cut several panes from a large sheet of glass.
A sheet of that new silicon stuff is as good as a sheet of tinfoil to keep food from sticking in the baking pan.
5
A broad, flat expanse or covering of a material on a surface.
Mud froze on the road in a solid sheet, then more rain froze into a sheet of ice on top of the mud!
6
An expanse of something.
[…] heavy sheets of rain with heavy gusts at N.E.; […]1855, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, page 514:
... sheets of fire could be seen. The air became intensely hot and they knew that the forest-fire was upon them.1908, Pillar of Fire, page 15:
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... sheets of light which appear to be formed by a source at one location for horizontal sheets and another location for vertical sheets . This is the direct result of the relative displacement of the two scanners along the optical axis[…]1988, A Twin-mirrored Galvanometer Laser Light Sheet Generator:
Heavy sheets of rain dwindled to a slow, quiet drizzle as she pulled the car toward the front door of her store. By the time she stepped out of the car, the drizzle had turned into a scattering of flurries that wafted lazily in the air[…]2020 October 26, Zoey Blair, The Cadence of Secrets, Rockville Publishing, →ISBN:
7
Nautical, Transport A line (rope) used to adjust the trim of a sail.
To be "three sheets to the wind" is to say that a four-cornered sail is tethered only by one sheet and thus the sail is useless.
Their folded Sheets dismiss the useless Air1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
The gecko moves from left to right and you must catch him when he calls. […] On the second sheet you must stand under the Gecko in the tree and jump, and on the third sheet you must catch the Gecko's friend.1983, "Program Printout: Gecko" (in Sinclair User, issue 21, page 95)
If you land safely you will gain 30 extra points and move to the next sheet.1984 February, Sinclair Programs:
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What distinguishes Eskimo Eddie from the others is that it has two totally different sheets in the game. […] In the first sheet, Frogger style, you have to rescue Percy penguin from Growler the bear.1984, Chris Passey, Matthew Uffindell, “Run It Again”, in Crash, number 4:
From Middle English schete; partly from Old English sċīete (“a sheet, a piece of linen cloth”); partly from Old English sċēata (“a corner, angle; the lower corner of a sail, sheet”); and Old English sċēat (“a corner, angle”); all from Proto-Germanic *skautijǭ, *skautaz (“corner, wedge, lap”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to throw, shoot, pursue, rush”). Cognate with North Frisian skut (“the fold of a garment, lap, coattail”), West Frisian skoat (“sheet; sail; lap”), Dutch schoot (“the fold of a garment, lap, sheet”), German Low German Schote (“a line from the foot of a sail”), German Schoß (“the fold of a garment, lap”), Danish skød (“lap, skirt”), Icelandic skaut (“the corner of a cloth, a line from the foot of a sail, the skirt or sleeve of a garment, a hood”), Norwegian skaut (“headdress”), Swedish sköt (“sheet”).
1
To cover or wrap with cloth, or paper, or other similar material.
Remember to sheet the floor before you start painting.
Yea, like a stag, when snow the pasture sheets, / The barks of trees thou browsed'st.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
2
To form into sheets.
3
Of rain To pour heavily.
Or other precipitation
We couldn't go out because the rain was sheeting down all day long.