• Skin

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /skɪn/
    • Rhymes: -ɪn

    Origin

    From Middle English skinn, from Old Norse skinn ("animal hide"), from Proto-Germanic *skinþą (compare Old English scinn ("hide"), Dutch schinde ("bark"), dialectal German Schinde ("fruit peel")), from Proto-Celtic *skento- (compare Breton skant ("scales"), Old Irish ceinn), from Proto-Indo-European *skend- ("to split off") (compare Irish scainim ("I tear, burst"), Latin scindere ("to split, divide"), Sanskrit (chinátti, "he splits")), nasal variant of *skeh₁i-d- ("to cut"). More at shed.

    Full definition of skin

    Noun

    skin

    (countable and uncountable; plural skins)
    1. (uncountable) The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.He is so disgusting he makes my skin crawl.
    2. (uncountable) The outer protective layer of the fruit of a plant.
    3. (countable) The skin and fur of an individual animal used by humans for clothing, upholstery, etc.
    4. (countable) A congealed layer on the surface of a liquid.In order to get to the rest of the paint in the can, you′ll have to remove the skin floating on top of it.
    5. (countable, computing) A set of resources that modifies the appearance and/or layout of the graphical user interface of a computer program.You can use this skin to change how the browser looks.
    6. (countable, slang) Rolling paper for cigarettes.Pass me a skin, mate.
    7. (countable, slang) Short for skinhead
    8. (Australia) A subgroup of Australian aboriginal people; such divisions are cultural and not related to an individual′s physical skin. 1994, Macquarie Aboriginal Words, Macquarie University, paperback ISBN 0-949757-79-9, Introduction.
    9. (countable, video games) An alternate appearance (texture map or geometry) for a 3D character model in a video game.
    10. (slang) Bare flesh, particularly bare breasts.Let me see a bit of skin.
    11. A vessel made of skin, used for holding liquids.
      • Tennysonskins of wine
    12. (nautical) That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole.
    13. (nautical) The covering, as of planking or iron plates, outside the framing, forming the sides and bottom of a vessel; the shell; also, a lining inside the framing.

    Synonyms

    Verb

    1. (transitive) To injure the skin of.He fell off his bike and skinned his knee on the concrete.
    2. (transitive) To remove the skin and/or fur of an animal or a human.
    3. (colloquial) To high five.
    4. (transitive, computing, colloquial) To apply a skin to (a computer program).Can I skin the application to put the picture of my cat on it?
    5. (UK, soccer, transitive) To use tricks to go past a defender.
      • 2011, January 30, Kevin Darlng, Arsenal 2 - 1 Huddersfield, The Russian, sometimes out of sorts in recent weeks, was seeing plenty of the ball on the left-hand side up against Hunt, a 20-year-old right-back making his first Huddersfield start. Arshavin skinned the youngster at the first opportunity and crossed for Bendtner, who could not direct his close-range effort on target.
    6. (intransitive) To become covered with skin.A wound eventually skins over.
    7. (transitive) To cover with skin, or as if with skin; hence, to cover superficially.
      • ShakespeareIt will but skin and film the ulcerous place.
    8. (US, slang, archaic) To produce, in recitation, examination, etc., the work of another for one's own, or to use cribs, memoranda, etc., which are prohibited.
    9. (slang, dated) To strip of money or property; to cheat.

    Synonyms

    Anagrams

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