skink

¹ American  

[skingk] / skɪŋk /

noun

1. any of numerous lizards of the family Scincidae, common in many regions of the Old and New World, typically having flat, smooth, overlapping scales and comprising terrestrial, arboreal, and fossorial species.

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skink ² American  

[skingk] / skɪŋk /

verb (used with object)

Scot. Dialect.

1. to serve (a beverage).

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skink British  

/ skɪŋk /

noun

1. any lizard of the family Scincidae, commonest in tropical Africa and Asia, having reduced limbs and an elongated body covered with smooth scales

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Etymology

Origin of skink¹

1580–90; < Latin scincus < Greek skínkos lizard

Origin of skink²

1350–1400; Middle English skynken < Middle Dutch schenken, schinken; cognate with Old English scencan, German schenken

Example Sentences

"Understanding predator-prey dynamics can be useful for effective conservation, especially for rare and threatened species such as the vulnerable western spiny-tailed skink," Dr Bradley said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024

A three-year-long imaging study only recently revealed the devotion of Cunningham skink mothers.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2022

Gongylomorphus borbonicus — Another Réunion species, in this case a skink not seen since 1839, shortly after the accidental introduction to the island of the lizard-eating Southeast Asian wolf snake.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2022

A broken pipe at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock flooded its building, causing extensive damage to theaters, galleries and offices and killing one display animal, a blue-tongued skink lizard.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2021

“Calpurnia, have you seen my five-lined skink? It should be filed here between the four-lined and the many-lined, naturally, but I seem to have misplaced it.”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly