I. ˈslēv verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: from (assumed) Middle English sleven, from (assumed) Old English slǣfan to cut (whence tōslǣfan to cut up); akin to Old English tōslīfan to split — more at slive
transitive verb
obsolete : to separate (silk thread) into filaments
intransitive verb
: to separate into filaments
the hair had sleaved out thin and fine — Aldous Huxley
II. noun
( -s )
1. obsolete : floss I 1
2. : skein
sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care — Shakespeare