Skein may refer to: * A flock of

geese A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

in flight * A wound ball of yarn with a centre pull strand; see

Hank Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...

* A metal piece fitted over the end of a wagon

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

, to which the wheel is mounted *

Skein (unit) A skein is a unit of length which has been used in the UK. As a measuring unit of cotton yarn or of silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fib ...

, a unit of length used by weavers and tailors *

Skein dubh The ( ; ) – also anglicized as skene – is a small, single-edged knife ( gd, sgian) worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt. Originally used for eating and preparing fruit, meat, and cutting bread and cheese, ...

, a Scottish knife *

Skein (fish) Skein may refer to: * A flock of geese or ducks in flight * A wound ball of yarn with a centre pull strand; see Hank * A metal piece fitted over the end of a wagon axle, to which the wheel is mounted * Skein (unit), a unit of length used by wea ...

, the egg sack of the fish eggs and/or the eggs themselves *

Skein module In mathematics, the Alexander polynomial is a knot invariant which assigns a polynomial with integer coefficients to each knot type. James Waddell Alexander II discovered this, the first knot polynomial, in 1923. In 1969, John Conway showed a v ...

, a mathematical concept *

Skein relation Skein relations are a mathematical tool used to study knots. A central question in the mathematical theory of knots is whether two knot diagrams represent the same knot. One way to answer the question is using knot polynomials, which are invaria ...

, a mathematical concept often used to give a simple definition of knot polynomials *

Skein (comics) Skein (real name Sybil Dvorak, also known as Gypsy Moth and Sybarite) is a fictional character, a mutant supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The character first appeared in ''Spider-Wom ...

, a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe *

Skein (hash function) Skein is a cryptographic hash function and one of five finalists in the NIST hash function competition. Entered as a candidate to become the SHA-3 standard, the successor of SHA-1 and SHA-2, it ultimately lost to NIST hash candidate Keccak. The ...

, a candidate hash function to the NIST hash function competition from Bruce Schneier et al.

See also