skunk
See also: Skunk
English
![](Images/wiktionary/Striped_Skunk_not_a_cat.jpg.webp)
A striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /skʌŋk/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌŋk
Etymology 1
From an unattested Southern New England Algonquian word, cognate with Abenaki segôgw, segonku (“he who squirts (musk) / urinates”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- (“to urinate”).
Noun
skunk (plural skunks)
- Any of various small mammals, 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.
- 1634, William Wood, “Of the Beasts that Live on the Land”, in New Englands Prospect. A True, Lively, and Experimentall Description of that Part of America, Commonly Called New England; […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Bellamie, […], OCLC 837516736, 1st part, pages 22–23:
- 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.
-
- (slang, derogatory) A despicable person.
- (slang, derogatory) Anything very bad; a stinker.
- 1987, English Journal (volume 76, issues 5-8, page 52)
- On the other hand, many critics contend that in terms of literary quality, many of the multiple-storyline books are true skunks.
- 1987, English Journal (volume 76, issues 5-8, page 52)
- (slang) A walkover victory in sports or board games, as when the opposing side is unable to score.
- Coordinate term: shutout
- (cribbage) A win by 30 or more points. (A double skunk is 60 or more, a triple skunk 90 or more.)
Derived terms
- drunk as a skunk
- skunk at a garden party
- skunked term
- skunky
Descendants
- → Czech: skunk
- → Danish: skunk
- → German: Skunk
- → Finnish: skunkki
- → French: skunks
- → Icelandic: skunkur
- → Japanese: スカンク (sukanku)
- → Norwegian: skunk
- → Polish: skunks
- → Russian: скунс (skuns)
- → Slovak: skunk
- → Swedish: skunk
Translations
animal
|
despicable person
|
skunkweed — see marijuana
walkover victory
|
Verb
skunk (third-person singular simple present skunks, present participle skunking, simple past and past participle skunked)
- (transitive, slang) To defeat so badly as to prevent any opposing points.
- I skunked him at cards.
- We fished all day but the lake skunked us.
- (cribbage) To win by 30 or more points.
- (intransitive, of beer) To go bad, to spoil.
See also
- Mephitis
- Spilogale
- Conepatus
- polecat
Etymology 2
Blend of skinhead + punk, influenced by the animal (Etymology 1).
Noun
skunk (plural skunks)
- A member of a hybrid skinhead and punk subculture.
- 2006, Pam Nilan, Carles Feixa, Global Youth?: Hybrid Identities, Plural Worlds (page 192)
- 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 […]
- 2006, Pam Nilan, Carles Feixa, Global Youth?: Hybrid Identities, Plural Worlds (page 192)
Etymology 3
From skunkweed (“certain highly aromatic marijuana”).
Noun
skunk (countable and uncountable, plural skunks)
- (slang) Clipping of skunkweed (marijuana).
- Any of the strains of hybrids of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica that may have THC levels exceeding those of typical hashish.
Czech
Noun
skunk m
- skunk (animal)
Further reading
- skunk in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- skunk in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English skunk.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /skʏŋk/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: skunk
Noun
skunk m (uncountable)
- skunk, weed with a high level of THC
Swedish
Noun
skunk c
- a skunk
Declension
Declension of skunk | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | skunk | skunken | skunkar | skunkarna |
Genitive | skunks | skunkens | skunkars | skunkarnas |