Online Etymology Dictionary

skill (n.): late 12c., "power of discernment," from Old Norse skil "distinction, discernment," related to skilja (v.) "distinguish, separate," from Proto-Germanic *skaljo- "divide, separate" (cf. Middle Low German schillen "to differ;" Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schele "difference;" see shell). Sense of "ability, cleverness" first recorded c.1300.
skillet (n.): c.1400, perhaps from Middle French esculette (Modern French écuelle), diminutive of escuele "plate," from Latin scutella "serving platter" (see scuttle (n.)); or formed in English from skele "wooden bucket or pail" (early 14c.), from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse skjola "pail, bucket").
skillful (adj.): c.1300, from skill + -ful. Related: Skillfully.
skim (v.): early 15c. (skimmer, the utensil, is attested from late 14c.), "to clear (a liquid) from matter floating on the surface," from Old French escumer "remove scum," from escume (French écume) "scum," from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German scum "scum," German Schaum; see scum). Hence, skim milk (1590s), from which the cream has been skimmed. Meaning "to glance over carelessly" (in reference to printed matter) first recorded 1799; that of "to move over lightly and rapidly" is from 1690s.
skimmer (n.): North American shore bird, 1785, agent noun from skim (v.); so called from its method of feeding.
skimp (v.): 1879, probably a back-formation of skimpy (1842), from skimp (adj.) "scanty" (1775), which perhaps ultimately is from an early 18c. alteration of scrimp.
skimpy (adj.): 1842, from skimp + -y (2). Related: Skimpiness.
skin (n.): c.1200, "animal hide" (usually dressed and tanned), from Old Norse skinn "animal hide," from Proto-Germanic *skintha- (cf. Old High German scinten, German schinden "to flay, skin;" German dialectal schind "skin of a fruit," Flemish schinde "bark"), from PIE *sken- "cut off" (cf. Breton scant "scale of a fish," Irish scainim "I tear, I burst"), from root *sek- "cut." Replaced native hide (n.); the modern technical distinction between the two words is based on the size of the animal. Meaning "epidermis of a living animal or person" is attested from mid-14c.; extended to fruits, vegetables, etc. late 14c.
Ful of fleissche Y was to fele, Now ... Me is lefte But skyn & boon. [hymn, c.1430]
Jazz slang sense of "drum" is from 1927. As an adjective, it formerly had a slang sense of "cheating" (1868); sense of "pornographic" is attested from 1968. Skin-tight is from 1885; skin deep is first attested in this:
All the carnall beauty of my wife, Is but skin-deep. [Sir Thomas Overbury, "A Wife," 1613; the poem was a main motive for his murder]
skin (v.): late 14c., "to remove the skin from" (originally of circumcision), from skin (n.). As "to have (a particular kind of) skin" from c.1400. Related: Skinned; skinning.
skinflint (n.): "miser," 1700, slang; literally "kind of person who would skin a flint to save or gain something," from skin (v.) + flint. Flay-flint in same sense is from 1670s.
skinhead (n.): 1969, in U.K. youth gang sense, from skin (n.) + head (n.). Earlier, in U.S., it meant "man with a crew cut" (1953), especially a military recruit.
skink (n.): 1580s, from Middle French scinc, from Latin scincus, from Greek skinkos, a kind of lizard common in Asia and North Africa, of unknown origin.
skinner (n.): late 14c., agent noun from skin (v.).
Skinner box (n.): 1940 (earlier Skinner apparatus, 1938), from U.S. psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904-1990).
skinny (adj.): 1570s, "resembling skin," from skin (n.). Meaning "emaciated" is recorded from c.1600. In the sense of "the truth" it is World War II military slang, perhaps from the notion of the "naked" truth. Skinny-dipping recorded by 1959.
skint (adj.): "broke, out of money," 1925, slang variant of skinned, past participle of skin (v.).
skip (v.): c.1300, "to spring lightly," also "to jump over," probably from Old Norse skopa "to skip, run," from Proto-Germanic *skupanan (cf. Middle Swedish skuppa, dialectal Swedish skopa "to skip, leap"). Meaning "omit intervening parts" first recorded late 14c. Meaning "fail to attend" is from 1905. The noun is attested from mid-15c. The custom of skipping rope has been traced to 17c.; it was commonly done by boys as well as girls until late 19c. Related: Skipped; skipping.
skipjack (n.): 1550s, "a pert shallow-brained fellow, a puppy, a conceited fop" [OED], from skip (v.) + generic name jack. Applied 1703 to tropical fishes with leaping tendencies. In reference to a kind of sailing boat used on Chesapeake Bay, attested from 1887.
skipper (n.): "captain or master of a ship," late 14c., from Middle Dutch scipper, from scip (see ship (n.)). Transferred sense of "captain of a sporting team" is from 1830.
skirl (v.): c.1400, "to make a shrill sound," from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian skyrlaskrella "to shriek"), of imitative origin. In reference to bagpipes, it is attested by 1660s and now rarely used otherwise.
skirmish (n.): c.1300, from Old French escarmouche "skirmish," from Italian scaramuccia, probably from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German skirmen "to protect, defend"), influenced in Middle English by a separate verb skirmysshen "to brandish a weapon," from Old French eskirmiss-, stem of eskirmir "to fence," from Frankish *skirmjan, from the same Germanic source. Cf. also scrimmage.
skirmish (v.): late 15c., from skirmish (n.). Related: Skirmished; skirmishing.
skirt (n.): c.1300, "lower part of a woman's dress," from Old Norse skyrta "shirt," see shirt. Sense development from "shirt" to "skirt" is possibly related to the long shirts of peasant garb (cf. Low German cognate Schört, in some dialects "woman's gown"). Sense of "border, edge" (in outskirts, etc.) first recorded late 15c., and the verb meaning "to pass along the edge" is from 1620s. Metonymic use for "women collectively" is from 1550s; slang sense of "young woman" is from 1906; skirt-chaser first attested 1942.
skit (n.): 1570s, "a vain, frivolous, or wanton girl" (originally Scottish, now archaic), related to verb meaning "to shy or be skittish," perhaps from Old Norse skjuta "to shoot" (see skittish). Sense shifted to "a satirical remark or reflection" (1727), then "a piece of light satire or caricature" (1820).
skite (n.): "contemptible person," 1790, earlier "sudden stroke or blow" (1785), perhaps from Old Norse skyt-, from skjota "to shoot."
skitter (v.): "to run rapidly," 1845, frequentative of skite "to dart, run quickly" (1721), perhaps from a Scandinavian source (cf. Icelandic skjota "to shoot," or Norwegian dialectal skutla "glide rapidly"); related to source of skit.
skittish (adj.): early 15c., "very lively, frivolous," perhaps from Scandinavian base *skyt- (stem of Old Norse skjuta "to shoot"), from PIE root *skeud- "to shoot, to chase, to throw, to project" (see shoot (v.)). Sense of "apt to run" first recorded c.1500, of horses.
skittles (n.): game played with nine pins, 1630s, plural of skittle, one of the pins used in the game, probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian skyttel "shuttle").
skive (v.1): "split or cut into strips," 1825, from Old Norse skifa, related to shive. Related: Skived; skiving.
skive (v.2): "evade duty," usually with off, 1919, of unknown origin.
skivvies (n.): "underwear," 1932, nautical slang, of unknown origin. An earlier skivvy/skivey was London slang for "female domestic servant" (1902).
skoal: Scandinavian toasting word, c.1600, from Danish skaal "a toast," literally "bowl, cup," from Old Norse, originally a cup made from a shell, from Proto-Germanic *skelo, from PIE *(s)kel- "to cut" (see shell (n.)). The word first appears in Scottish English, and may have been connected to the visit of James VI of Scotland to Denmark in 1589.
skosh: "a little bit," Korean War armed forces slang, from Japanese sukoshi "few, little, some."
Skraeling (n.): 1767, Norse name for inhabitants of Greenland encountered by the Viking settlers there, from Old Norse Skræingar (plural), apparently literally "little men" (cf. Icelandic skrælna "shrink"); another term for them was smair menn. The name may have been used first in reference to the inhabitants of Vineland (who would have been Indians), then transferred to Eskimos, who adopted it into their own language as Kalaleq.
Hans Egede, who published a dictionary of Greenland Eskimo in 1739, says that the Eskimos themselves told him that they got the name from the Norsemen who once lived in Greenland. [Gordon, p.217-8]
sku: by 1974, acronym from stock-keeping unit.
skua (n.): "predatory gull," 1670s, from Faeroese skugvur, related to Old Norse skufr "seagull, tuft, tassel," and possibly to skauf "fox's tail."
skulduggery (n.): 1856, apparently an alteration of Scottish sculdudrie "adultery" (1713), sculduddery "bawdry, obscenity" (1821), a euphemism of uncertain origin.
skulk (v.): early 13c., from a Scandinavian source, cf. Norwegian skulke "to shirk, malinger," Danish skulke "to spare oneself, shirk." Common in Middle English but lacking in 15c.-16c. records; possibly reborrowed 17c. Related: Skulked; skulking.
skull (n.): early 13c., probably from Old Norse skalli "bald head, skull," a general Scandinavian word (cf. Swedish skulle, Norwegian skult), probably related to Old English scealu "husk" (see shell). But early prominence in southwestern texts suggests rather origin from a Dutch or Low German cognate (e.g. Dutch schol "turf, piece of ice," but the sense of "head bone framework" is wanting). Derivation from Old French escuelle seems unlikely on grounds of sound and sense. Old English words for skull include heafod-bolla.
skunk (n.): 1630s, squunck, from a southern New England Algonquian language (probably Abenaki) seganku, from Proto-Algonquian */šeka:kwa/, from */šek-/ "to urinate" + */-a:kw/ "fox." As an insult, attested from 1841. Skunk cabbage is attested from 1751.
sky (n.): early 13c., "a cloud," from Old Norse sky "cloud," from Proto-Germanic *skeujam "cloud, cloud cover" (cf. Old English sceo, Old Saxon scio "cloud;" Old High German scuwo, Old English scua, Old Norse skuggi "shadow;" Gothic skuggwa "mirror"), from PIE root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)). Meaning "upper regions of the air" is attested from c.1300; replaced native heofon in this sense (see heaven). In Middle English, the word can still mean both "cloud" and "heaven," as still in the skies, originally "the clouds." Sky-high is from 1818; phrase the sky's the limit is attested from 1920. Sky-dive first recorded 1965; sky-writing is from 1923.
skyhook (n.): "imaginary device to hold things up," 1915, originally aviators' jargon, from sky (n.) + hook (n.). Applied from 1935 to actual device for lifting things into the air.
skyjack (v.): "to hijack an airplane," 1961, apparently coined in New York "Mirror" headlines, from sky + second element of hijack (q.v.).
Skylab (n.): name of a U.S. space program, first attested 1970, launched 1973, fell to earth 1979.
skylark (n.): the common European lark, 1680s, from sky + lark (n.). The verb meaning "to frolic or play" is recorded from 1809, originally nautical, in reference to "wanton play about the rigging, and tops."
skylight (n.): 1670s, "light from the sky," from sky + light (n.). Meaning "small opening in a roof to admit light" is recorded from 1680s.
skyline (n.): 1824, from sky + line (n.).
skyrocket (n.): 1680s, from sky + rocket (n.2). The verb, in the figurative sense of "to rise abruptly and rapidly," is attested from 1895.
skyscraper (n.): very tall urban building, 1888, in a Chicago context, from sky + agent noun of scrape (v.). Used earlier for "ornament atop a building" (1883), "very tall man" (1857), "high-flying bird" (1840), "light sail at the top of a mast" (1794), and the name of a racehorse (1789). Cf. cognate French gratte-ciel, from gratter "to scrape" + ciel "sky;" German Wolkenkratzer, from Wolke "cloud" + Kratzer "scraper."
cloud-cleaver, an imaginary sail jokingly assumed to be carried by Yankee ships. [W. Clark Russell, "Sailors' Word Book," 1883]
slab (n.): late 13c., "large, flat mass," of unknown origin, possibly related to Old French escalpe "thin fragment of wood," which seems to be a Gaulish loan word (cf. Breton scolp, Welsh ysgolp "splinter, chip"). But OED rejects this on formal grounds. Meaning "rectangular block of pre-cast concrete used in building" is from 1927.