[skunk] n, pl skunks also skunk [of Algonquian origin; akin to Eastern Abenaki segank8 skunk] (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
[2]skunk vt (1843) 1 a: defeat b: to shut out in a game
2: to fail to pay; also: cheat