Skainsmate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who is a close companion or intimate friend, especially one with whom one shares secrets or confidences
2. A trusted individual who shares a deep bond of friendship and intimacy, often engaging in personal exchanges and close confidences
3. A close friend who shares personal secrets and is trusted deeply in matters of intimacy and companionship

Etymology: Its origin is so uncertain that the best-supported account is a guess built from three possible sources. The likeliest candidates are "skean," a sword or dagger, or "skein," a length of thread, joined to "mate," meaning companion or comrade. A sword would suggest a companion in arms, or even a cutthroat, while a skein of thread would suggest a fellow worker such as a sailor or seamstress. The sexual readings are where the case gets livelier. Sword may be a euphemism for the penis, making a skainsmate a sexual partner, and sewing and winding thread were both used as metaphors for sexual intercourse. A companion term in the same passage, "flirt-gill," meaning a promiscuous woman, supports reading the word in that sense.