Adjacent Words

Skirt definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SKIRT, n.
1. The lower and loose part of a coat or other garment; the part below the waist; as the skirt of a coat or mantle. 2 Samuel 15.
2. The edge of any part of dress.
3. Border; edge; margin; extreme part; as the skirt of a forest; the skirt of a town.
4. A woman's garment like a petticoat.
5. The diaphragm or midriff in animals.
To spread the skirt over, in Scripture, to take under one's care and protection Ruth 3.
SKIRT, v.t. To border; to form the border or edge; or to run along the edge; as a plain skirted by rows of trees; a circuit skirted round with wood.
SKIRT, v.i. To be on the border; to live near the extremity.
Savages--who skirt along our western frontiers.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
2: a garment hanging from the waist; worn mainly by girls and women
3: (Fungi) a remnant of the partial veil that in mature mushrooms surrounds the stem like a collar [syn: annulus, skirt]
4: informal terms for a (young) woman [syn: dame, doll, wench, skirt, chick, bird] v
1: avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully" [syn: hedge, fudge, evade, put off, circumvent, parry, elude, skirt, dodge, duck, sidestep]
2: pass around or about; move along the border; "The boat skirted the coast"
3: form the edge of
4: extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle; "The forest surrounds my property" [syn: surround, environ, ring, skirt, border]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse skyrta shirt, kirtle — more at shirt Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) a free-hanging part of an outer garment or undergarment extending from the waist down (2) a separate free-hanging outer garment or undergarment usually worn by women and girls covering some or all of the body from the waist down b. either of two usually leather flaps on a saddle covering the bars on which the stirrups are hung c. a cloth facing that hangs from the bottom edge or across the front of a piece of furniture d. the lower branches of a tree when near the ground 2. a. the rim, periphery, or environs of an area b. plural outlying parts (as of a town or city) 3. a part or attachment serving as a rim, border, or edging 4. slang a girl or woman • skirted adjective II. verb Date: 1602 transitive verb 1. to form or run along the border or edge of ; border 2. a. to provide a skirt for b. to furnish a border or shield for 3. a. to go or pass around or about; specifically to go around or keep away from in order to avoid danger or discovery b. to avoid especially because of difficulty or fear of controversy <skirted the issue> c. to evade or miss by a narrow margin <having skirted disaster — Edith Wharton> intransitive verb to be, lie, or move along an edge or border • skirter noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a woman's outer garment hanging from the waist. 2 the part of a coat etc. that hangs below the waist. 3 a hanging part round the base of a hovercraft. 4 (in sing. or pl.) an edge, border, or extreme part. 5 (also bit of skirt) sl. offens. a woman regarded as an object of sexual desire. 6 (in full skirt of beef etc.) a the diaphragm and other membranes as food. b Brit. a cut of meat from the lower flank. 7 a flap of a saddle. 8 a surface that conceals or protects the wheels or underside of a vehicle or aircraft. --v. 1 tr. go along or round or past the edge of. 2 tr. be situated along. 3 tr. avoid dealing with (an issue etc.). 4 intr. (foll. by along) go along the coast, a wall, etc. Phrases and idioms: skirt-dance a dance with graceful manipulation of a full skirt. Derivatives: skirted adj. (also in comb.). skirtless adj. Etymology: ME f. ON skyrta shirt, corresp. to OE scyrte: see SHIRT

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Skirt Skirt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Skirted; p. pr. & vb. n. Skirting.] 1. To cover with a skirt; to surround. Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold. --Milton. 2. To border; to form the border or edge of; to run along the edge of; as, the plain was skirted by rows of trees. ``When sundown skirts the moor.'' --Tennyson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Skirt Skirt, v. t. To be on the border; to live near the border, or extremity. Savages . . . who skirt along our western frontiers. --S. S. Smith.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Skirt Skirt, n. [OE. skyrt, of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. skyrta a shirt, Sw. sk["o]rt a skirt, skjorta a shirt. See Shirt.] 1. The lower and loose part of a coat, dress, or other like garment; the part below the waist; as, the skirt of a coat, a dress, or a mantle. 2. A loose edging to any part of a dress. [Obs.] A narrow lace, or a small skirt of ruffled linen, which runs along the upper part of the stays before, and crosses the breast, being a part of the tucker, is called the modesty piece. --Addison. 3. Border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything ``Here in the skirts of the forest.'' --Shak. 4. A petticoat. 5. The diaphragm, or midriff, in animals. --Dunglison.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(skirts, skirting, skirted) 1. A skirt is a piece of clothing worn by women and girls. It fastens at the waist and hangs down around the legs. N-COUNT 2. Something that skirts an area is situated around the edge of it. We raced across a large field that skirted the slope of a hill. VERB: V n 3. If you skirt something, you go around the edge of it. We shall be skirting the island on our way... She skirted round the edge of the room to the door. VERB: V n, V round/around n 4. If you skirt a problem or question, you avoid dealing with it. He skirted the hardest issues, concentrating on areas of possible agreement... He skirted round his main differences with her. VERB: V n, V round/around n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

skurt:

(1) kanaph, "wing" "extremity" (Ru 3:9, etc.), is the usual word. But in 1Sa 24:4 ff perhaps "corner" is the best translation.

(2) shul, "loose hanging" (Ex 28:33, etc.; in the King James Version often rendered "hem").

(3) peh, "mouth," "opening" (Ps 133:2, "the precious oil .... that came down upon the skirt"). But the "opening" is that for is that for the head, so that the Revised Version margin "collar" is the correct translation.

"Skirt" is frequently used in a euphemistic sense, for which the commentaries must be consulted.

See DRESS; TRAIN.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Flap, loose part (of a garment below the waist). 2. Petticoat. 3. Edge, border, margin, verge, rim, extreme part. II. v. a. Border, from the border or edge of.

Moby Thesaurus

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