skink

[ skingk ]

/ skɪŋk /

noun

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.

Nearby words

skin-search, skin-tight, skinflint, skinful, skinhead, skink, skinking, skinless, skinned, skinner, skinner box

Origin of skink

1580–90; < Latin scincus < Greek skínkos lizard

Definition for skink (2 of 2)

skink

[ skingk ]

/ skɪŋk /

verb (used with object) Scot. Dialect.

to serve (a beverage).

Origin of skink

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for skink

But if Hiaasen were none of those things, if all he had ever done was to create the character of Skink, that would be enough.
Can Carl Hiaasen Save Florida?|Malcolm Jones|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
True, the story contains no sex scenes and no swearing, and its protagonists, other than Skink, are two plucky teenagers.
Can Carl Hiaasen Save Florida?|Malcolm Jones|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And with Skink as his guide, Richard discovers the pleasures of the unplugged life.
Can Carl Hiaasen Save Florida?|Malcolm Jones|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After maneuvering about the cement walk the skink ran through the open door into the building.
Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus|Henry S. Fitch

One skink, however, was seen to snap up a spider which ran near its snout.
Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus|Henry S. Fitch
Less than three hours later I saw a skink that was active in the field.
Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus|Henry S. Fitch
The skink also rushed away several times when the shrew came close enough to disturb it.
Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus|Henry S. Fitch
The second Hernandes also denominates by the same name, (ysquiepatl) and which in South America is called the skink.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

British Dictionary definitions for skink

skink

/ (skɪŋk) /

noun

any lizard of the family Scincidae, commonest in tropical Africa and Asia, having reduced limbs and an elongated body covered with smooth scalesRelated adjective: scincoid

Word Origin for skink

C16: from Latin scincus a lizard, from Greek skinkos

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

Word Origin and History for skink

skink

1580s, from Middle French scinc (Modern French scinque), from Latin scincus, from Greek skinkos, some kind of lizard common in Asia and North Africa, of unknown origin.