Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sleeve \Sleeve\, n. [OE. sleeve, sleve, AS. sl?fe, sl?fe; akin
   to sl?fan to put on, to clothe; cf. OD. sloove the turning up
   of anything, sloven to turn up one's sleeves, sleve a sleeve,
   G. schlaube a husk, pod.]
   1. The part of a garment which covers the arm; as, the sleeve
      of a coat or a gown. --Chaucer.

   2. A narrow channel of water. [R.]

            The Celtic Sea, called oftentimes the Sleeve.
                                                  --Drayton.

   3. (Mach.)
      (a) A tubular part made to cover, sustain, or steady
          another part, or to form a connection between two
          parts.
      (b) A long bushing or thimble, as in the nave of a wheel.
      (c) A short piece of pipe used for covering a joint, or
          forming a joint between the ends of two other pipes.

   {Sleeve button}, a detachable button to fasten the wristband
      or cuff.

   {Sleeve links}, two bars or buttons linked together, and used
      to fasten a cuff or wristband.

   {To laugh in the sleeve}, to laugh privately or unperceived,
      especially while apparently preserving a grave or serious
      demeanor toward the person or persons laughed at; that is,
      perhaps, originally, by hiding the face in the wide
      sleeves of former times.

   {To pin}, or {hang}, {on the sleeve of}, to be, or make,
      dependent upon.