I. ˈskəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English skulle, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish skulle skull; probably akin to Old High German scollo clod, lump, scala shell, husk — more at shell
1.
a. : the skeleton of the head of a vertebrate : the bony or cartilaginous case or framework that encloses and protects the brain and chief sense organs, supports the jaws, is cartilaginous in primitive forms (as cyclostomes and elasmobranchs) and in the embryos of all forms, but in higher vertebrates has the cartilage usually replaced by bone and the structure made more complete by the union with it of other bones developed in membrane, and consists of the cranium, the bony capsules of the nose, ear, and eye, and the jaws
b. : the cranium together with those bones that are immovably fused with it (as the mammalian upper jaw)
2. : the seat of understanding or intelligence : mind
it penetrated his thick skull what had happened — Storyteller Weekly
a multitude of things that the ordinary sealed skull rejects — J.M.Barzun
3.
a. : the crown of the head
an unattractive old man, with a bald yellow skull — Ellen Glasgow
b.
(1) : scullcap 1b
(2) : the top of a helmet
the sides of the helmet were commonly hinged to the skull — Christopher & Adrian Lynch-Robinson
4. : death's-head
5. : a crust of solidified material (as metal, matte, or slag) that forms on the walls of a ladle or other vessel containing this material in the molten state — often used in plural
II.
variant of scull