Skipper Skip"per noun 1. One who, or that which, skips. 2. A young, thoughtless person. Shak. 3. (Zoology) The saury ( Scomberesox saurus ). 4. The cheese maggot. See Cheese fly , under Cheese . 5. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of small butterflies of the family Hesperiadĉ ; -- so called from their peculiar short, jerking flight.
Skipper Skip"per noun [ Dutch
schipper . See
Shipper , and
Ship .]
1. (Nautical) The master of a fishing or small trading vessel; hence, the master, or captain, of any vessel. 2. A ship boy. [ Obsolete]
Congreve.
Skippet Skip"pet noun [ Confer Icelandic
skip , English
skipper . See
Ship .]
1. A small boat; a skiff. [ Obsolete]
A little skippet floating did appear.
Spenser. 2. A small round box for keeping records. [ Obsolete]
Skippingly Skip"ping·ly adverb In a skipping manner; by skips, or light leaps.
Skirl Skirl transitive verb & i. [ Of Scand. origin, and originally the same word as English
shrill .]
To utter in a shrill tone; to scream. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Skirl Skirl noun A shrill cry or sound. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Skirlcock Skirl"cock` noun (Zoology) The missel thrush; -- so called from its harsh alarm note. [ Prev. Eng.]
Skirlcrake Skirl"crake` noun The turnstone. [ Prev. Eng.]
Skirling Skirl"ing noun A shrill cry or sound; a crying shrilly; a skirl. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Sir W. Scott. When the skirling of the pipes cleft the air his cold eyes softened.
Mrs. J. H. Ewing.
Skirling Skirl"ing noun (Zoology) A small trout or salmon; -- a name used loosely. [ Prov. Eng.]
Skirmish Skir"mish intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Skirmished ;
present participle & verbal noun Skirmishing .] [ Middle English
skirmishen ,
scarmishen , Old French
escremir ,
eskermir , to fence, fight, French
escrimer , of German origin; confer Old High German
scirmen to protect, defend, German
schirmen , Old High German
scirm ,
scerm , protection, shield, German
schirm ; perhaps akin to Greek ............ a sunshade. Confer
Scaramouch ,
Scrimmage .]
To fight slightly or in small parties; to engage in a skirmish or skirmishes; to act as skirmishers.
Skirmish Skir"mish noun [ Middle English
scarmishe ,
scrymishe . See
Skirmish ,
intransitive verb ]
1. A slight fight in war; a light or desultory combat between detachments from armies, or between detached and small bodies of troops. 2. A slight contest. They never meet but there's a skirmish of wit.
Shak.
Skirmisher Skir"mish·er noun One who skirmishes. Specifically:
plural (Mil.) Soldiers deployed in loose order, to cover the front or flanks of an advancing army or a marching column.
Skirr Skirr transitive verb [ Confer
Scur ,
Scurry .]
To ramble over in order to clear; to scour. [ Archaic]
Shak.
Skirr Skirr intransitive verb To scour; to scud; to run. [ Archaic]
Skirr Skirr noun (Zoology) A tern. [ Prov. Eng.]
Skirret Skir"ret noun [ A corrupted form equivalent to
sugarwort .]
(Botany) An umbelliferous plant ( Sium, or Pimpinella, Sisarum ). It is a native of Asia, but has been long cultivated in Europe for its edible clustered tuberous roots, which are very sweet.
Skirrhus Skir"rhus noun (Medicine) See Scirrhus .
Skirt Skirt noun [ Middle English
skyrt , of Scand. origin; confer Icelandic
skyrta a shirt, Swedish
skört a skirt,
skjorta a shirt. See
Shirt .]
1. The lower and loose part of a coat, dress, or other like garment; the part below the waist; as, the skirt of a coat, a dress, or a mantle. 2. A loose edging to any part of a dress. [ Obsolete]
A narrow lace, or a small skirt of ruffled linen, which runs along the upper part of the stays before, and crosses the breast, being a part of the tucker, is called the modesty piece.
Addison. 3. Border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything "Here in the
skirts of the forest."
Shak. 4. A petticoat. 5. The diaphragm, or midriff, in animals. Dunglison.
Skirt Skirt transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Skirted ;
present participle & verbal noun Skirting .]
1. To cover with a skirt; to surround. Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold.
Milton. 2. To border; to form the border or edge of; to run along the edge of; as, the plain was skirted by rows of trees. "When sundown
skirts the moor."
Tennyson.
Skirt Skirt transitive verb To be on the border; to live near the border, or extremity. Savages . . . who skirt along our western frontiers.
S. S. Smith.
Skirting Skirt"ing noun 1. (Architecture) A skirting board. [ R.]
2. Skirts, taken collectivelly; material for skirts. Skirting board ,
the board running around a room on the wall next the floor; baseboard.
Skit Skit transitive verb [ Prov. English
skit to slide, as adj., hasty, precipitate, of Scand. origin, and akin to English
shoot , v.t.; confer Icelandic
skyti ,
skytja ,
skytta , a marksman, shooter,
skjōta to shoot,
skūta a taunt. √159. See
Shoot .]
To cast reflections on; to asperse. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Crose.
Skit Skit noun 1. A reflection; a jeer or gibe; a sally; a brief satire; a squib. Tooke. A similar vein satire upon the emptiness of writers is given in his "Tritical Essay upon the Faculties of the Human Mind;" but that is a mere skit compared with this strange performance.
Leslie Stephen. 2. A wanton girl; a light wench. [ Obsolete]
Skitter Skit"ter transitive verb [ Confer
Skit ,
transitive verb ]
To move or pass (something) over a surface quickly so that it touches only at intervals; to skip. The angler, standing in the bow, 'skitters' or skips the spoon over the surface.
James A. Henshall.
Skitter Skit"ter intransitive verb To pass or glide lightly or with quick touches at intervals; to skip; to skim. Some kinds of ducks in lighting strike the water with their tails first, and skitter along the surface for a feet before settling down.
T. Roosevelt.
Skittish Skit"tish adjective [ See
Skit ,
transitive verb ]
1. Easily frightened; timorous; shy; untrustworthy; as, a skittish colt. "A restiff,
skittish jade."
L'Estrange. 2. Wanton; restive; freakish; volatile; changeable; fickle. "
Skittish Fortune's hall."
Shak. --
Skit"tish*ly ,
adverb --
Skit"tish*ness ,
noun
Skittle Skit"tle adjective Pertaining to the game of skittles. Skittle alley ,
an alley or court in which the game of skittles is played. --
Skittle ball ,
a disk or flattish ball of wood for throwing at the pins in the game of skittles.
Skittle-dog Skit"tle-dog` noun (Zoology) The piked dogfish.
Skittles Skit"tles noun plural [ Of Scand. origin. √159. See
Shoot ,
transitive verb , and confer
Shuttle ,
Skit ,
transitive verb ]
An English game resembling ninepins, but played by throwing wooden disks, instead of rolling balls, at the pins.
Skitty Skit"ty noun [ Confer
Skittish .]
(Zoology) A rail; as, the water rail (called also skitty cock , and skitty coot ); the spotted crake ( Porzana maruetta ), and the moor hen. [ Prov. Eng.]
Skive Skive noun [ Confer Icelandic
skīfa a shaving, slice, English
shive ,
sheave .]
The iron lap used by diamond polishers in finishing the facets of the gem.
Skive Skive transitive verb To pare or shave off the rough or thick parts of (hides or leather).
Skiver Skiv"er noun [ Confer
Skewer ,
Shiver a fragment.]
1. An inferior quality of leather, made of split sheepskin, tanned by immersion in sumac, and dyed. It is used for hat linings, pocketbooks, bookbinding, etc. 2. The cutting tool or machine used in splitting leather or skins, as sheepskins.
Skiving Ski"ving noun 1. The act of paring or splitting leather or skins. 2. A piece made in paring or splitting leather; specifically, the part from the inner, or flesh, side.
Sklayre Sklayre noun [ Confer German
schleier .]
A vell. [ Obsolete]
Sklere Sklere transitive verb To shelter; to cover. [ Obsolete]
Skolecite, Skolezite Skol"e·cite, Skol"e·zite noun (Min.) See Scolecite .
Skonce Skonce noun See Sconce .
Skopster Skop"ster (skŏp"stẽr)
noun The saury. [ Prov. Eng.]
Skoptsy Skop·tsy" noun plural See Raskolnik .
Skorodite Skor"o·dite noun (Min.) See Scorodite .
Skout Skout noun (Zoology) A guillemot.
Skowitz Sko"witz noun [ Nisqually (American Indian) name.]
(Zoology) The silver salmon.
Skreen Skreen noun & v. See Screen . [ Obsolete]
Skrike Skrike intransitive verb & t. To shriek. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Skrike Skrike noun (Zoology) The missel thrush. [ Prov. Eng.]
Skrimmage Skrim"mage noun See Scrimmage .
Skrimp Skrimp transitive verb See Scrimp .
Skringe Skringe intransitive verb See Scringe .
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