Skein
collective noun /skeɪn/ — Geese in flight — stretched across the sky in a thread of movement.
Definition
The collective noun for geese in flight, typically arranged in a V-formation. The word is borrowed from the bundled thread of yarn it resembles in the sky.
Beyond the definition
A skein of geese across an autumn sky is one of those sights that catches the breath. There's something about the formation — purposeful, ancient, together — that feels meaningful in a way that's hard to articulate.
Origin & history
From Old French escaigne — a hank of thread or yarn. When geese fly in formation, seen from below or against the sky, they resemble a loose thread being pulled across the horizon. The image is visually precise.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
A skein of geese crossed the October sky, pulling something in her chest.
He watched the skein until it was a single thread at the edge of the light.
There is migration in the word skein — the sense of a long journey underway.
Synonyms
flock, flight, gaggle
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Word in focus
A skein of geese
Canada geese flying together in a V-shaped formation against a blue sky.
Here, “skein” names the whole gathering. Notice the animals together rather than looking for one individual with that name. The photograph illustrates the group; it is not evidence that this particular scene inspired the expression.
Image credit: John Benson · CC BY 2.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; full composition retained.