skein

1. (figuratively) A web, a weave, a tangle.Examples: "He watched her pretty and unconscious munching through the skeins of smoke that pervaded the tent[…]"; "But when she turned her thoughts to Morningside Park she perceived the tangled skein of life was now to be further complicated by his romantic importunity."; "The practical application of what I have said is very close to the problem which I am investigating. It is a tangled skein, you understand, and I am looking for a loose end."figuratively

2. (zoology) The membrane of a fish ovary.

3. (wagonmaking) A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.Examples: "One of the free-state settlers went to the blacksmith's shop unarmed, carrying a waggon skein to be repaired."

4. (zoology, UK, dialect, collective) A group of wild fowl (e.g. geese, goslings) when they are in flight.Examples: "High above the swallows and 2 miles or so out into the Channel was a skein of geese, probably brent geese on the first day of their emigration from the estuaries of the Channel coast towards the high Arctic tundra of Spitsbergen or Russia."; "They're only referred to as a gaggle when they're on land. When they're flying in formation they can be referred to as a skein."UKcollectivedialectal

5. (sports) A winning streak.

6. (radio, television, dated) A series created by a web (major broadcasting network).Examples: "All three tele skeins are pitching furiously to snag the super Easter Day tele show to be bankrolled by Frigidaire, […]"; "Three comedy shows from the U. S. are in the CTV lineup: CBSTV's Phil Silvers and Danny Thomas skeins and NBC-TV's "Harry's Girls.""dated