[skirt] n [ME, fr. ON skyrta shirt, kirtle--more at shirt] (14c) 1 a (1): a free-hanging part of an outer garment or undergarment extending from the waist down (2): a separate free-hanging outer garment or undergarment usu. worn by women and girls covering some or all of the body from the waist down b: either of two usu. leather flaps on a saddle covering the bars on which the stirrups are hung c: a cloth facing that hangs loosely and usu. in folds or pleats from the bottom edge or across the front of a piece of furniture d: the lower branches of a tree when near the ground
2. a: the rim, periphery, or environs of an area b pl: outlying parts (as of a town or city)
3: a part or attachment serving as a rim, border, or edging
4: a girl or woman -- skirt.ed adj
[2]skirt vt (1602) 1: to form or run along the border or edge of: border
2. a: to provide a skirt for b: to furnish a border or shield for 3 a: to go or pass around or about; specif: to go around or keep away from in order to avoid danger or discovery b: to avoid esp. because of difficulty or fear of controversy "~ed the issue" c: to evade or miss by a narrow margin "having ~ed disaster --Edith Wharton" ~ vi: to be, lie, or move along an edge or border -- skirt.er n