What does "sleave" mean?

Sleave: (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. Shak.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To separate, as threads; to divide, as a collection of threads; to sley; -- a weaver's term.

Sources