/ skʌŋk; NAmE / ( NAmE also pole·cat ) noun
1.
a small black and white N American animal that can produce a strong unpleasant smell to defend itself when it is attacked
2.
( slang ) = skunkweed
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IDIOMS
see drunk adjective
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent.: from Abnaki segankw ; variants occur in many other American Indian dialects. Abnaki is a group of two extinct Algonquian languages..