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skellum

[skel-uh m]
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noun Chiefly Scot.
  1. a rascal.
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Origin of skellum

1605–15; < Dutch schelm rogue, knave < Middle Low German; cognate with German Schelm rogue, Old High German skelmo, scalmo plague, corpse
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for skellum

Historical Examples

  • Old Coetzee saved me the trouble of answering, for he broke in with Skellum!

    Prester John

    John Buchan

British Dictionary definitions for skellum

skellum

noun
  1. archaic, dialect, or Southern African a rogue
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Word Origin

C17: via Dutch from Old High German skelmo devil
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012