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skunk

noun
/skʌŋk/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Algonquian *šek- Proto-Algonquian *-a·kw- Proto-Algonquian *-a Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa Eastern Algonquianbor. English skunk Borrowed from an unattested Southern New England Eastern Algonquian word cognate with Abenaki segôgw (literally “he who squirts (musk) / urinates”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- (“to urinate”). Doublet of Chicago.

  1. derived from *šeka·kwa✻

Definitions

  1. Any of various small mammals, of most genera of the family Mephitidae, native to North…

    Any of various small mammals, of most genera of the family Mephitidae, native to North and Central America, having a glossy black with a white coat and two musk glands at the base of the tail for emitting a noxious smell as a defensive measure.

    • The beaſts of offence be Squunckes, Ferrets, Foxes, vvhoſe impudence ſometimes drives them to the good vvives Hen rooſt, to fill their Paunch: ſome of theſe be blacke; their furre is of much eſteeme.

  2. A despicable person.

    • In fact, the term he applied to this species of human being was "skunk," and he used it freely.

  3. Anything very bad

    Anything very bad; a stinker.

    • On the other hand, many critics contend that in terms of literary quality, many of the multiple-storyline books are true skunks.
  4. ›+ 8 more definitions

    1. A walkover victory in sports or board games, as when the opposing side is unable to score.

    2. A win by thirty or more points. (A double skunk is sixty or more, a triple skunk ninety…

      A win by thirty or more points. (A double skunk is sixty or more, a triple skunk ninety or more.)

    3. To defeat so badly as to prevent any opposing points.

      • I skunked him at cards.
      • We fished all day but the lake skunked us.

    4. To win by thirty or more points.

    5. To go bad, to spoil.

    6. A member of a hybrid skinhead and punk subculture.

      • In the early 1980s, certain ex-punks joined them, becoming 'skunks' – a hybrid subculture of skinheads and punks.
      • 2011, Gerard DeGroot (quoting Brown), Seventies Unplugged […] mods, skins, suedes, smoothies, punks, skunks, rude boys, soul boys and headbangers […]

    7. Clipping of skunkweed, type of marijuana.

    8. Any of the strains of hybrids of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica that may have THC…

      Any of the strains of hybrids of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica that may have THC levels exceeding those of typical hashish.

The neighborhood

Derived

badger skunk, big skunk, deskunk, drunk as a skunk, drunker than a skunk, hog-nosed skunk, hooded skunk, hydrophobia skunk, knock a skunk off a gut wagon, rooter skunk, skunk ape, skunk at a garden party, skunk at the garden party, skunkbag, skunkball, skunkbear, skunk bear (Gulo gulo, skunkbill, skunkbird, skunk blackbird, skunkbush, skunk cabbage), skunk currant, skunk dolphin, skunked term, skunkery, skunk grass, skunkhead, skunkie, skunkish, skunkless, skunklet, skunklike, skunk pig, skunk porpoise, skunk pox, skunk spruce, skunk tail, skunk tree, skunk turtle · +9 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for skunk. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA