skill

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English [edit]

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Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Middle English skilen (also schillen), partly from Old English scylian, scielian (“to separate, part, divide off”); and partly from Old Norse skilja (“to divide, separate”); both from Proto-Germanic *skilōnan, *skiljanan (“to divide, limit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kalǝ-, *(s)kelǝ- (“to split, cut”). Cognate with Danish skille (“to separate, discard”), Swedish skilja (“to distinguish, differentiate, part”), Icelandic skilja (“to understand”), Dutch schelen (“to make a difference”).

Verb [edit]

skill (third-person singular simple present skills, present participle skilling, simple past and past participle skilled)

  1. (transitive) To set apart; separate.
  2. (transitive, chiefly dialectal) To discern; have knowledge or understanding; to know how (to).
    • (Can we date this quote?) Herbert:
      I can not skill of these thy ways.
  3. (intransitive) To have knowledge or comprehension; discern.
  4. (intransitive) To have personal or practical knowledge of; be versed or practised; be expert or dextrous.
  5. (intransitive, archaic) To make a difference; signify; matter.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Herbert:
      What skills it, if a bag of stones or gold / About thy neck do drown thee?
    • (Can we date this quote?) Sir Walter Scott:
      It skills not talking of it.

Etymology 2 [edit]

From Middle English skill, skille (also schil, schile), from Old English *scile and Old Norse skil (“a distinction, discernment, knowledge”), from Proto-Germanic *skilin (“separation, limit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kalǝ-, *(s)kelǝ- (“to split, cut”). Cognate with Danish skel (“a separation, boundary, divide”), Swedish skäl (“reason”), Dutch verschil (“difference”).Dutch schillen (verb) (“to sperate the outer layer (schil) from the product”).

Noun [edit]

skill (countable and uncountable; plural skills)

  1. Capacity to do something well; technique, ability. Skills are usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities, which are often thought of as innate.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
capacity to do something well

Adjective [edit]

skill (comparative more skill, superlative most skill)

  1. (UK, slang) great, excellent
    • 1987, Teresa Maughan, Letters (in Your Sinclair issue 18, June 1987)
      Well, unfortunately for you, my dearest Waggipoos, I'm much more skill than you!
    • 1991, Wreckers (video game review in Crash issue 88, May 1991)
      This game is skill. Remember that because it's going to sound really complicated.
    • 1999, "Andy Smith", I am well skill (on Internet newsgroup alt.digitiser)
      And I am skiller than you.

Anagrams [edit]

References [edit]

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