Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Sheet \Sheet\, n. [OE. shete, schete, AS. sc[=e]te, sc[=y]te,
fr. sce['a]t a projecting corner, a fold in a garment (akin
to D. schoot sheet, bosom, lap, G. schoss bosom, lap, flap of
a coat, Icel. skaut, Goth. skauts the hem of a garment);
originally, that which shoots out, from the root of AS.
sce['o]tan to shoot. [root]159. See {Shoot}, v. t.]
In general, a large, broad piece of anything thin, as paper,
cloth, etc.; a broad, thin portion of any substance; an
expanded superficies. Specifically:
(a) A broad piece of cloth, usually linen or cotton, used for
wrapping the body or for a covering; especially, one used
as an article of bedding next to the body.
He fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a
certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been
a great sheet knit at the four corners. --Acts x.
10, 11.
If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me In one
of those same sheets. --Shak.
(b) A broad piece of paper, whether folded or unfolded,
whether blank or written or printed upon; hence, a
letter; a newspaper, etc.
(c) A single signature of a book or a pamphlet; in pl., the
book itself.
To this the following sheets are intended for a
full and distinct answer. --Waterland.
(d) A broad, thinly expanded portion of metal or other
substance; as, a sheet of copper, of glass, or the like;
a plate; a leaf.
(e) A broad expanse of water, or the like. ``The two
beautiful sheets of water.'' --Macaulay.
(f) A sail. --Dryden.
(g) (Geol.) An extensive bed of an eruptive rock intruded
between, or overlying, other strata.
2. [AS. sce['a]ta. See the Etymology above.] (Naut.)
(a) A rope or chain which regulates the angle of
adjustment of a sail in relation in relation to the
wind; -- usually attached to the lower corner of a
sail, or to a yard or a boom.
(b) pl. The space in the forward or the after part of a
boat where there are no rowers; as, fore sheets; stern
sheets.
Note: Sheet is often used adjectively, or in combination, to
denote that the substance to the name of which it is
prefixed is in the form of sheets, or thin plates or
leaves; as, sheet brass, or sheet-brass; sheet glass,
or sheet-glass; sheet gold, or sheet-gold; sheet iron,
or sheet-iron, etc.
{A sheet in the wind}, half drunk. [Sailors' Slang]
{Both sheets in the wind}, very drunk. [Sailors' Slang]
{In sheets}, lying flat or expanded; not folded, or folded
but not bound; -- said especially of printed sheets.
{Sheet bend} (Naut.), a bend or hitch used for temporarily
fastening a rope to the bight of another rope or to an
eye.
{Sheet lightning}, {Sheet piling}, etc. See under
{Lightning}, {Piling}, etc.
Sheet \Sheet\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sheeted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Sheeting}.]
1. To furnish with a sheet or sheets; to wrap in, or cover
with, a sheet, or as with a sheet. ``The sheeted dead.''
``When snow the pasture sheets.'' --Shak.
Source : WordNet®
sheet
v 1: come down as if in sheets; "The rain was sheeting down
during the monsoon"
2: cover with a sheet, as if by wrapping; "sheet the body"
sheet
n 1: any broad thin expanse or surface; "a sheet of ice"
2: used for writing or printing [syn: {piece of paper}, {sheet
of paper}]
3: bed linen consisting of a large rectangular piece of cotton
or linen cloth; used in pairs [syn: {bed sheet}]
4: (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape; "we will
refer to the plane of the graph as the X-Y plane"; "any
line joining two points on a plane lies wholly on that
plane" [syn: {plane}]
5: newspaper with half-size pages [syn: {tabloid}, {rag}]
6: a flat artifact that is thin relative to its length and
width [syn: {flat solid}]
7: (nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle
at which a sail is set in relation to the wind [syn: {tack},
{mainsheet}, {weather sheet}, {shroud}]
8: a large piece of fabric (as canvas) by means of which wind
is used to propel a sailing vessel [syn: {sail}, {canvas},
{canvass}]