I. ˈskin noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse skinn; akin to Old English scinn skin, Middle High German schint peel of a fruit, Old Norse skān crust, Welsh ysgythru to cut, scratch, and probably to Latin secare to cut — more at saw
1.
a. : the integument of an animal separated from the body with or without hair whether green, dry, tanned, or dressed ; specifically : that of a small animal (as a calf, sheep, or goat) as distinguished from the hide of a large animal
b. : the hide or pelt of a game animal and especially of one to be hunted
c.
(1) : the pelt of an animal prepared for use as a trimming or in a garment
her neckpiece of four skins
it takes forty skins to make a coat
(2) : a sheet of parchment or vellum made from the whole or part of a hide
(3) : bottle 1b
(4) : sealskin 3 ; also : a plush covering for a ski used like a sealskin — usually used in plural
2.
a. : the external limiting layer of an animal body especially when forming a tough but flexible cover relatively impermeable from without while intact: as
(1) : the 2-layered covering of the vertebrate body sometimes modified by the presence of bony plates (as in an armadillo) or scales (as in most fishes and reptiles) and consisting of an outer ectodermal epidermis that is more or less cornified and penetrated by the openings of various glands (as sweat and sebaceous glands in man) and an inner mesodermal dermis that is composed largely of connective tissue and is richly supplied with blood vessels and nerves
(2) : the hypodermis and the overlying cuticle that it secretes in many invertebrates — compare exoskeleton , mucous membrane
b. : an outer covering of a fruit or seed (as a rind, husk, or peel)
a black eye caused by a swiftly hurled orange skin — American Guide Series: North Carolina
c. : the epidermis of a plant
d.
(1) : a membranous film or scum (as on boiling milk or on the surface of paints or varnishes) : pellicle
how cold the gravy was getting — a skin was forming on it — Agatha Christie
(2) : a thin frozen coating
a skin of ice
e.
(1) : an outermost layer or surface of an object
the skin of a casting
the skin of a diamond
the skin of an electric conductor
(2) : a layer and especially the outermost layer of nacreous matter composing a pearl
(3) : the surface of a bituminous pavement
f. : the part of a furled sail that is on the outside and covers the whole
g. : a casing for sausage
h. : the rind of ham or bacon
3. : the life or physical well-being of a person
when the troopship went down he took care that if anybody's skin was saved it should be his — Peter Forster
4. : a sheathing or casing forming the outside surface of a structure
steel for auto skins — A.G.Tombs
as
a. : a covering of planking or metal plates outside the framing that forms the sides and bottom of a ship : shell
b. : an exterior wall of a building:
(1) : either of two panels that enclose a hollow space containing the framework
external walls are of 11-inch cavity brickwork, with inner skins of cellular flettons — Architectural Review
(2) : thin weather-resistant stainless steel, aluminum, or other metal used alone or in combination with glass and other material to form a curtain wall
c. : an outer sheet covering of an airplane, missile, or satellite that is in an airplane usually made of metal and designed to carry a portion of the stress
5. : purse , pocketbook
6. : a contemptible person: as
a. : miser , skinflint
b. : one given to cheating : swindler , sharper
7. : made-beaver
8. slang : drum
9. : skinball
10.
[short for frogskin ]
slang : dollar
11. slang : horse
12.
[ skin (II) ]
slang : an unfavorable report or a reprimand
•
- in a whole skin
- in one's skin
- out of one's skin
- the skin of one's teeth
- under one's skin
- under the skin
II. verb
( skinned or dialect skun ˈskən ; skinned or dialect skun ; skinning ; skins )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cover with or as if with skin
fuselages and wings will be skinned with steel … or titanium alloys — Wernher Von Braun
b. : to heal over with skin
2.
a. : to strip, scrape, or rub off the skin, peel, rind, or other outer covering of : remove a surface layer from
huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand — American Guide Series: Louisiana
skinning out a moose — F.C.Craighead b. 1916 & J.J.Craighead
skin the Bermuda onion — Dione Lucas
b. : to remove (skin or outer covering) from an object : pull or strip off
too late to skin out the hide that night — Corey Ford
and amiably skinned off his coat to help — R.V.Mills
skin the insulation from the wire
c.
(1) : to chip, cut, or damage the surface of
skinned his hand on the rough rock
saw the skinned fender
(2) : to remove (a portion of a surface) by wearing, chipping, or cutting away from a body
the movers skinned the paint off the front steps — Virginia D. Dawson & Betty D. Wilson
d.
(1) : to slide (a single card) from the top of a pack in dealing (as in faro)
(2) : to slide the cards off the top of (a pack) one by one
e.
(1) : to peel a thin layer of paper from
skin an album page
(2) : to peel (a thin layer of paper) from a surface
skin a stamp from an envelope
f. : to remove the patina from (a painting) in the process of restoration
3.
a. : to strip of money or property : fleece
determined to collect his army bounty from a town selectman who … had been trying to skin him — Dixon Wecter
b. : to outdistance or defeat in a race or contest
c.
(1) : to criticize, satirize, or otherwise unfavorably comment upon
had once skinned me because … I seemed unable to take literature seriously — Bernard De Voto
(2) slang : to administer a reprimand to or report a deficiency in
he was skinned for dirty boots
4. : to exhaust by excessive cultivation or exploitation : despoil of natural resources
during the grain rush of the war years this raw new stretch … of farms was horribly skinned — Russell Lord
5.
a. : to urge on and direct the course of (a draft animal)
one talent he could turn to a profit — mules, skinning mules — H.G.Evarts
b. : to act as operator of (a caterpillar tractor)
6. : to equalize the thickness of adhesive on (a pasted or glued surface) by placing a sheet of wastepaper over it and rapidly rubbing or pressing
intransitive verb
1. : to become covered with or as if with skin
these inks won't dry on the press … nor will they skin in the can — Graphic Arts Monthly
— usually used with over
2.
a. : to climb or descend — used with up or down
when you leave you skin up the rope — C.E.Rose
skinned down inside ladders from the bridge deck — K.M.Dodson
b.
(1) : to pass with scant room to spare : traverse a narrow opening — used with through or by
the big ship barely skinned through the open draw
(2) : to succeed or qualify by a narrow margin — used with through or by
c. : to pass or go hurriedly : scurry
skinned … out the gate before she even had time to think — Helen Eustis
Synonyms:
skin , decorticate , peel , pare , and flay agree in meaning to divest of skin or an outer covering. skin can apply to any animal or to a vegetable or fruit
skin a bear
skin an orange
decorticate applies to the stripping of the bark of a tree, the husk of a seed, or the rind of a fruit
cut down and decorticate a birch tree
for the production of the best quality oil … the seeds are decorticated before being expressed in the cold — J.F.Thorpe & Martha Whiteley
peel and pare are usually interchangeable but peel more generally applies when the skin or outer covering can be removed by stripping, pare when cutting is necessary
peel an orange
pare an apple
flay applies largely to persons or animals and implies a skinning under torture or by scourging
a man nearly flayed alive for criminal attack upon a tribesman
•
- skin a flint
- skin alive
- skin the cat
III. noun
: a mutual touching or slapping of the palms that takes the place of a handshake — used chiefly in the phrases give skin or give me skin
IV. ˈskin adjective
Etymology: skin (I)
: involving subjects who are nude
expected to conduct skin searches for weapons — Diane K. Shah
specifically : devoted to showing nudes
skin magazines