The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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2. A narrow channel of water. [R.]
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The Celtic Sea, called oftentimes the Sleeve.
--Drayton.
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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.
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4. (Elec.) A double tube of copper, in section like the
figure 8, into which the ends of bare wires are pushed so
that when the tube is twisted an electrical connection is
made. The joint thus made is called
a McIntire joint.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
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 or To laugh up one's 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 pinon the sleeve of, or To hang on the sleeve of, to
be, or make, dependent upon.
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