scheef

scheef

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eːf
• IPA^(key): /sxeːf/

• audio (Belgium)

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• audio (Netherlands)

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Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch scheyff, from Proto-Germanic *skaibaz ‘crooked, askew’, from Proto-Indo-European *skeh₂iwo- (compare Latin scaevus (“left, clumsy”), Ancient Greek σκαιός (skaiós, “rude; brusque”), Latvian šķìbs (“crooked”)).[1] Cognate with German schief, Old English *sc(e)āf (in scāffōt (“splay-footed”)), Swedish skev.

Adjective

scheef (comparative schever, superlative scheefst)

1. crooked, not level or straight

   Synonym: schuin

2. (informal) weird, not right

Inflection

Inflection of scheef
uninflected	scheef
inflected	scheve
comparative	schever
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		scheef	schever	het scheefst het scheefste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	scheve	schevere	scheefste
	n. sing.	scheef	schever	scheefste
	plural	scheve	schevere	scheefste
definite		scheve	schevere	scheefste
partitive		scheefs	schevers	—

Descendants

• Negerhollands: skeef
• → Papiamentu: scheef (dated)

References

1. Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; van der Sijs, Nicoline (2003–2009), “scheef1”, in Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands (in Dutch), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch scēve, from Proto-Germanic *skibō-; cognate with Low German Schääv, German Schäbe, and English shive, all ‘fragment of the woody core of flax or hemp’.[1]

Noun

scheef f (plural scheven, diminutive scheefje n)

1. (textiles) shive, i.e. fragment of the woody core of flax or hemp

   Synonym: leem

References

1. Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; van der Sijs, Nicoline (2003–2009), “schijf”, in Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands (in Dutch), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• schefe, szefe, ssef, shafe, shafe, scheff, schaf, sheff, shef

Etymology

From Old English sċēaf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛːf/
• Rhymes: -ɛːf

Noun

scheef (plural scheves or schefes)

1. A sheaf (a grain bundle)
2. A sheaf as part of a paying in kind of tax.
3. A group of arrows or the container they belong in.
4. A specified amount of steel or glass used as a measurement.
5. (rare) A bunch of any other kind of agricultural produce.
6. (rare) A bunch of any other small, long item.

Descendants

• English: sheaf
• Scots: sheaf
• Yola: shives (plural)

References

• “shēf, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-04.

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Plautdietsch

Etymology

From Middle Low German schêf, from Old Saxon *skêf, from Proto-Germanic *skaibaz (“crooked”), of disputed ultimate origin. Perhaps from the same source as *skeuhaz (“frightened, shy”).[1] Another possibility is Proto-Indo-European *skeh₂iwos, the source of Latin scaevus (“on the left side”).[2] See also Swedish skev, Dutch scheef, German schief.

Adjective

scheef

1. aslant, askew, oblique, sloping, slanting

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “skew”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
2. van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “scheef”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute