n.
Pronunciation: ' sk ə ŋ k
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural skunks also skunk
Etymology: earlier squuncke, from a Massachusett reflex of Algonquian * š eka · kwa, from š ek- urinate + -a · kw fox, fox-like animal
Date: 1634
1 a : any of various common omnivorous black-and-white New World mammals (esp. genus Mephitis ) of the weasel family that have a pair of perineal glands from which a secretion of pungent and offensive odor is ejected b : the fur of a skunk
2 : an obnoxious or disliked person
skunk 1a