Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - skein

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English skeyne, from Middle French (Picard) escagne, probably from Vulgar Latin *scamnia, from *scamniare to wind yarn, from *scamnium rack for holding bobbins, from Latin scamnum bench, stool — more at shambles  Date: 14th century  1. (also skean) (or skeane) a loosely coiled length of yarn or thread wound on a reel  2. something suggesting the twists or coils of a ~ ; tangle  3. a flock of wildfowl (as geese or ducks) in flight  II. transitive verb  Date: circa 1775 to wind into ~s ~ yarn