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 skink¹

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

Example Sentences

In 2019, officials at the Chennai airport seized a horned pit viper snake, five Iguanas, four blue-tongued skinks, three green tree frogs and 22 Egyptian tortoises from a man travelling from Thailand.

From BBC

While one of the skulls was indeed an early skink, the researchers found, the other was not.

From Science Daily

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

From New York Times

On Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, the invasive wolf snake has been driving blue-tailed skinks and other reptiles toward extinction, for example.

From Science Magazine

Along nearby Hog Bayou, blue buntings and scarlet tanagers dart through magnolia branches and skinks skitter up trees.

From Seattle Times