Sleave
Sleave (slēv) , noun
[Compare Danish sloif, a knot loop, Swedish slejf, German schleife a knot, sliding knot, and English slip, v.i.]
(a)
The knotted or entangled part of silk or thread.
(b)
Silk not yet twisted; floss; -- called also sleave silk.
Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care.
Sleave (slēvd) , transitive verb
To separate, as threads; to divide, as a collection of threads; to sley; -- a weaver's term.