Meanings
plural sleeves
- A (usually tubular) covering or lining to protect a piece of machinery etc.First known use 19th c.
This bearing requires a sleeve so the shaft will fit snugly.
- A protective jacket or case, especially for a record, containing art and information about the contents; also the analogous leaflet found in a packaged CD.First known use 20th c.
- A narrow channel of water.
Even from Southhampton ' s shore through Wilts and Somerset The Attrebates in Bark unto the bank of Tames Betwixt the Celtic sleeve and the Sabrinian streams
1612, Michael Drayton, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC - Sleave; untwisted thread.
- USA long, cylindrical plastic bag of cookies or crackers, or a similar package of disposable drinking cups.
A three-alarm fire tore through a family home on Newark's East Side early Saturday morning, completely gutting the two-story residence and tragically claiming a half-sleeve of Oreo cookies that was trapped inside a cupboard.
2012, Half A Sleeve Of Oreos Lost In House Fire", The Onion, May 5, 2012 - businessA double tube of copper into which the ends of bare wires are pushed so that when the tube is twisted an electrical connection is made. The joint thus made is called a McIntire joint.
present singular third person sleeves · participle present sleeving · participle past sleeved · past sleeved
- magic tricksTo hide something up one's sleeve.
There are certain types of sleeving that are difficult to perform with the shirt sleeves down, and it is difficult and risky to attempt sleeving while wearing a shirt with "French" cuffs.
2006, J. B. Bobo, Modern Coin Magic, →ISBN, page 99
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishslīef
- Middle Englishsleve
- Englishsleeve
From Middle English sleve, slefe, from Old English slīef and slīefe (“sleeve”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sleeuwe (“sleeve”), West Frisian slúf, Dutch sloof (“apron”), Low German sluve, dialectal German Schlaube. The Canadian sense of “measure smaller than a pint” is due to a former conflict between federal law and provincial law in British Columbia. According to federal law, a pint must be 20 imperial ounces (~568 ml), but according to provincial law at the time, the maximum individual serving size was 500 ml, so an individual portion could not be called a “pint” in British Columbia, and required a different term. The provincial law has been changed, allowing servings of up to 24 oz (~682 ml), but the term remains in use. The term sleeve itself for a cylindrical glass of beer is also found in the UK and Australia (as sleever), and may be due to stacked glasses resembling a sleeve.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans mou
- moupart of a garment that covers the arm
Arabic كُمّ, رُدْن
- كُمّ (kumm)part of a garment that covers the arm
- رُدْن (rudn)part of a garment that covers the arm
Basque mahuka, beso
- mahukapart of a garment that covers the arm
- besopart of a garment that covers the arm
Bengali আস্তিন
- আস্তিন (astin)part of a garment that covers the arm
Bulgarian ръка́в, втулка
- ръка́в (răkáv)part of a garment that covers the arm
- втулка (vtulka)mechanical covering or lining
- калъф (kalăf)record cover
Catalan màniga, mànega
- mànigapart of a garment that covers the arm
- mànegapart of a garment that covers the arm
- fundamechanical covering or lining
- cobertarecord cover
- enfundarto fit and attach a sleeve to an item
Chinese Cantonese 衫袖, 袖
- 衫袖 (saam¹ zau⁶)part of a garment that covers the arm
- 袖 (zau⁶)part of a garment that covers the arm
Chinese Mandarin 袖子, 袖筒
- 袖子 (xiùzi)part of a garment that covers the arm
- 袖筒 (xiùtǒng)part of a garment that covers the arm
- 套筒 (tàotǒng)mechanical covering or lining
Czech rukáv
- rukávpart of a garment that covers the arm
Danish ærme, muffe
- ærmepart of a garment that covers the arm
- muffepart of a garment that covers the arm
Dutch mouw, platenhoes
- mouwpart of a garment that covers the arm
- platenhoesrecord cover
- hoesrecord cover
Esperanto maniko, tegi
- manikopart of a garment that covers the arm
- tegito fit and attach a sleeve to an item
Estonian varrukas, käis
- varrukaspart of a garment that covers the arm
- käispart of a garment that covers the arm
Finnish hiha, kaulus
- hihapart of a garment that covers the arm
- kaulusmechanical covering or lining
French manche, chemise
- manchepart of a garment that covers the arm
- chemisemechanical covering or lining
- gainemechanical covering or lining
- manchonmechanical covering or lining
- pochetterecord cover
- boîtierrecord cover
German Ärmel, Hülse
- Ärmelpart of a garment that covers the arm
- Hülsemechanical covering or lining
- Schutzhüllemechanical covering or lining
- Tüllemechanical covering or lining
- Köchermechanical covering or lining
- Hüllemechanical covering or lining
- Muffemechanical covering or lining
- Manschettemechanical covering or lining
- Schlauchmechanical covering or lining
- Buchsemechanical covering or lining
- Banderolemechanical covering or lining
- Pinolemechanical covering or lining
- bekleidento fit and attach a sleeve to an item
- eintütento fit and attach a sleeve to an item
- überziehento fit and attach a sleeve to an item
Greek μανίκι, δακτυλίδι σύνδεσης
- μανίκι (maníki)part of a garment that covers the arm
- δακτυλίδι σύνδεσης (daktylídi sýndesis)mechanical covering or lining
- συνδετικό χιτώνιο (syndetikó chitónio)mechanical covering or lining
- θήκη (thíki)record cover
- κάλυμμα (kálymma)record cover
Hawaiian lima
- limapart of a garment that covers the arm
Hebrew שַׁרְוּול
- שַׁרְוּול (sharvúl)part of a garment that covers the arm
Hindi आस्तीन, बाँह
- आस्तीन (āstīn)part of a garment that covers the arm
- बाँह (bā̃h)part of a garment that covers the arm
Hungarian ujj, ruhaujj
- ujjpart of a garment that covers the arm
- ruhaujjpart of a garment that covers the arm
- hüvelymechanical covering or lining
- borítórecord cover
Icelandic ermi
- ermipart of a garment that covers the arm
Indonesian lengan baju, selongsong
- lengan bajupart of a garment that covers the arm
- selongsongmechanical covering or lining
Irish muinchille
- muinchillepart of a garment that covers the arm
Italian manica, manicotto
- manicapart of a garment that covers the arm
- manicottomechanical covering or lining
- contenitorerecord cover
- foderarecord cover
Japanese 袖, スリーブ
- 袖 (sode)part of a garment that covers the arm
- スリーブ (surību)part of a garment that covers the arm
Korean 소매
- 소매 (somae)part of a garment that covers the arm
Latin manulea, manica
- manuleapart of a garment that covers the arm
- manicapart of a garment that covers the arm
Latvian piedurkne
- piedurknepart of a garment that covers the arm
Lithuanian rankovė
- rankovėpart of a garment that covers the arm
Malay lengan baju
- lengan bajupart of a garment that covers the arm
Māori ringaringa
- ringaringapart of a garment that covers the arm
Norwegian Bokmål erme
- ermepart of a garment that covers the arm
Persian آستین
- آستین (âstin)part of a garment that covers the arm
Polish rękaw, koperta
- rękawpart of a garment that covers the arm
- kopertarecord cover
Portuguese manga
- mangapart of a garment that covers the arm
Romanian mânecă
- mânecăpart of a garment that covers the arm
Russian рука́в, рука́в
- рука́в (rukáv)part of a garment that covers the arm
- рука́в (rukáv)mechanical covering or lining
- вту́лка (vtúlka)mechanical covering or lining
- ги́льза (gílʹza)mechanical covering or lining
- стака́н (stakán)mechanical covering or lining
- му́фта (múfta)mechanical covering or lining
- пришива́ть рука́в (prišivátʹ rukáv)to fit and attach a sleeve to an item
Scottish Gaelic muinchill, muilcheann
- muinchillpart of a garment that covers the arm
- muilcheannpart of a garment that covers the arm
- muilchdinnpart of a garment that covers the arm
- muilchill (Strathspey)part of a garment that covers the arm
- muilchear (Perthshire, Deeside)part of a garment that covers the arm
- muille (Arran)part of a garment that covers the arm
Slovak rukáv
- rukávpart of a garment that covers the arm
Spanish manga, funda
- mangapart of a garment that covers the arm
- fundamechanical covering or lining
- enfundarto fit and attach a sleeve to an item
Swedish ärm, fodral
- ärmpart of a garment that covers the arm
- fodralrecord cover
Tagalog manggas
- manggaspart of a garment that covers the arm
Thai แขนเสื้อ, แขน
- แขนเสื้อ (kɛ̌ɛn-sʉ̂ʉa)part of a garment that covers the arm
- แขน (kɛ̌ɛn)part of a garment that covers the arm
Turkish kol, yen
- kolpart of a garment that covers the arm
- yenpart of a garment that covers the arm
Ukrainian рука́в
- рука́в (rukáv)part of a garment that covers the arm
Urdu آستین
- آستین (āstīn)part of a garment that covers the arm
Vietnamese tay áo
- tay áopart of a garment that covers the arm
Welsh llawes
- llawespart of a garment that covers the arm
Yiddish אַרבל
- אַרבל (arbl)part of a garment that covers the arm
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sleeve
Cite this entry
sleeve. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeve
“sleeve.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeve. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sleeve,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeve.
Source: sleeve on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.