I. ˈskyü noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, coping stone on a masonry gable, from Anglo-French escu, from Old French, shield — more at ecu
chiefly Scotland : a coping or coping stone on a masonry gable
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English skewen to skew, escape, from Old North French escuer to shun, avoid, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German sciuhen to frighten off, make timid — more at shy
intransitive verb
1. : to take an oblique direction or course : move or turn aside : twist , swerve
skews around in his chair
2. : to look sideways or askance
transitive verb
1. : to make, set, or cut on the skew : turn or place at an angle
2. : to give a bias or disproportionate weight to : distort
the list is badly skewed in favor of the subjects with which I myself feel most at home — Bonaro W. Overstreet
3. : to cause (a frequency distribution or its graphic curve) to lack symmetry
III. adjective
1. : deviating from a straight line : set, placed, or running obliquely : distorted , slanting
2. : more developed on one side or in one direction than another ; specifically : lacking statistical symmetry
for a symmetrical distribution the median is identical with the arithmetic mean, but for a skew distribution it is not — Statistical Methods in Research & Production
IV. noun
( -s )
1. : a deviation from a straight line : an oblique course or direction : slant
wearing her hat on the skew
2. : deviation from rectangularity
detects the skew in cloth and controls the operation which straightens it — Newsweek
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: origin unknown
: to remove loose particles of gold or silver leaf from with a soft brush
VI. noun
Etymology: origin unknown
dialect England : a sudden gusty drizzle of rain