skellum

[ skel-uh m ]
/ ˈskɛl əm /

noun Chiefly Scot.

a rascal.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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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

Words nearby skellum

skeleton key, skeletonize, skelf, skelic index, skell, skellum, skelly, skelm, skelmersdale, skelp, skelter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for skellum

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

    Prester John|John Buchan

British Dictionary definitions for skellum

skellum
/ (ˈskɛləm) /

noun

archaic, dialect, or Southern African a rogue

Word Origin for skellum

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