I. ˈskərt, ˈskə̄t, ˈskəit, usu -d.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse skyrta shirt, kirtle — more at shirt
1.
a.
(1) : the part of an outer garment or undergarment extending from the waist down that has a free hanging lower edge and is cut in one with the upper part of the garment or attached at the waistline
the skirt of a jacket
the sweeping skirt of a ball gown
— often used in plural
gathered up her skirts and ran away
(2) : a separate outer garment or undergarment for women and girls covering the body from the waist down
b. : either of two usually leather flaps on a saddle covering the bars on which the stirrups are hung — see stock saddle illustration
c. : a cloth facing hanging loosely and usually in folds or pleats from the bottom edge or across the front of a piece of furniture
dressing table skirt
chair skirt
d. : the outer part of a parachute canopy
e. : the lower branches of a tree when near the ground
2.
a. : the rim, periphery, or environs of an area, territorial division, or natural feature
the long white skirt of the salt desert lay awash — Dean Jennings
— often used in plural
b. skirts plural : the outlying parts of a town or city : outskirts, suburbs
unfenced pastures on the skirts of the village — Joseph Mitchell
3. : a part or attachment serving as a rim, border, edging, or endpiece of an object: as
a. : the lip of a bell
b. : an apron piece or border in a building (as a baseboard or the molded piece under a window stool)
c. : a decorative piece on furniture connecting the legs along the lower edge of the table top, chair seat, or base
d. : a protective guard or plating on machinery and appliances
e. : a sheet metal covering for the wheels and other working parts of a locomotive
f. : fender skirt
g. : the bottom portion of the vertical wall of a screw-on jar cap ; also : the vertical portion of a can wall attached to the cap of a key-opened can
4. : the final portions of a period of time
5.
a. : the diaphragm or midriff of an animal used as edible meat
b. Britain : a flank of beef
6. slang : girl , woman
the American soldiers' … reputation as perhaps the most tireless skirt chasers of all time and all peoples — D.L.Cohn
7. : the bearing surface of a piston consisting of the plain cylindrical portion below the ring
neither the cylinder bore nor the piston skirt is perfectly stiff — H.F.Blanchard & Ralph Ritchen
8. : skirting 3
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to form the border or edge of : run along the edge of : border
the shell of mountains that skirts the southeast coast — W.B.Furlong
skirted by a lofty iron railing — John Godley
2.
a. : to provide a skirt for
an old-fashioned full- skirted frock coat — O.S.J.Gogarty
b. : to furnish a border or guard for
machines skirted and fendered — Newsweek
3.
a. : to go or proceed closely around or about : follow the outskirts of
set out to skirt the marshes that lay between them and the fort — Kenneth Roberts
the dusty path that skirted the field — Ellen Glasgow
specifically : to go around or keep away from in order to avoid danger or discovery
sent back word to skirt the frowning walls and make no contacts with the inhabitants — J.R.Perkins
the friendly neighborhood cop whom everybody knows and the criminal skirts — George Barrett
skirted right end on a 7-yard touchdown run — New York Times
b. : to avoid (as a topic or question) because of difficulty, complexity, danger, or fear of controversy
both candidates were seen as skirting the referendums — Current Biography
c. : to escape (as danger, death, or error) though coming very close : evade or miss by a very narrow margin
an empiricist has to seek the justification … in the motivational make-up of man … yet to skirt the naturalistic fallacy — P.B.Rice
unaware of having skirted disaster — Edith Wharton
4. : to remove the skirtings from (a fleece of wool)
intransitive verb
1. : to be, lie, or move along an edge, border, or margin : follow a roundabout path
the tanker … was expected to skirt around submerged obstacles — New York Times
2. of a hound : to cut corners rather than follow the actual path of a fox
III. ˈskirt, ˈskərt intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: origin unknown
Scotland : to hurry away