SKINKS

Noun

skinks

plural of skink

Verb

skinks

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of skink

Source: Wiktionary


SKINK

Skink, n. Etym: [L. scincus, Gr. [Written also scink.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of regularly scaled harmless lizards of the family Scincidæ, common in the warmer parts of all the continents.

Note: The officinal skink (Scincus officinalis) inhabits the sandy plains of South Africa. It was believed by the ancients to be a specific for various diseases. A common slender species (Seps tridactylus) of Southern Europe was formerly believed to produce fatal diseases in cattle by mere contact. The American skinks include numerous species of the genus Eumeces, as the blue-tailed skink (E. fasciatus) of the Eastern United States. The ground skink, or ground lizard (Oligosoma laterale) inhabits the Southern United States.

Skink, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Skinked; p. pr. & vb. n. Skinking.] Etym: [Icel. skenja; akin to Sw. skäka, Dan. skienke, AS. scencan, D. & G. schenken. As. scencan is usually derived from sceonc, sceanc, shank, a hollow bone being supposed to have been used to draw off liquor from a cask. sq. root161. See Shank, and cf. Nunchion.]

Definition: To draw or serve, as drink. [Obs.] Bacchus the wine them skinketh all about. Chaucer. Such wine as Ganymede doth skink to Jove. Shirley.

Skink, v. i.

Definition: To serve or draw liquor. [Obs.]

Skink, n.

Definition: Drink; also, pottage. [Obs.] Bacon.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 May 2025

HEEDLESS

(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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