Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SHEATHE, v.t.

1. To put into a case or scabbard; as, to sheathe a sword or dagger.
2. To inclose or cover with a sheath or case. The leopard … keeps the claws of his fore feet turned up from the ground, and sheathed in the skin of his toes. – Grew. 'Tis in my breast she sheathed her dagger now. – Dryden.
3. To cover or line; as, to sheathe the bowels with demulcent or mucilaginous substances.
4. To obtund or blunt, as acrimonious or sharp particles. – Arbuthnot.
5. To fit with a sheath. – Shak.
6. To case or cover with boards or with sheets of copper; as, to sheathe a ship to preserve it from the worms. To sheathe the sword, a figurative phrase, to put an end to war or enmity; to snake peace. It corresponds to the Indian phrase, to bury the hatchet.