skink

[ skingk ]

/ skɪŋk /

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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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of skink

1580–90; <Latin scincus<Greek skínkos lizard

Words nearby skink

skinful, skin game, skin graft, skin grafting, skinhead, skink, skinking, skinless, skinned, skinner, Skinner, B. F.

Other definitions for skink (2 of 2)

skink²

[ 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

How to use skink in a sentence

In the North, the most common hosts were mice, while in the South, the ticks selectively attached to skinks, Ginsberg says.
The animals that ticks bite in the U.S. South can impact Lyme disease spread|Aimee Cunningham|February 5, 2021|Science News
It will take more research to learn how climate change will affect skink populations and how warming might change tick behavior, he says.
The animals that ticks bite in the U.S. South can impact Lyme disease spread|Aimee Cunningham|February 5, 2021|Science News
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
To judge from specimens available, E. dugesi probably is the most abundant and widespread species of skink in the state.
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacn, Mxico|William E. Duellman
Scincoid, sing′koid, n. one of a family of saurian reptiles, the typical genus of which is the Scin′cus or skink.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
To skink wine before me if thee I permit, Thou on the stone bench with the servants shalt sit.
Child Maidelvold|Anonymous
She took in her fair hand the white silver can, To skink mead before the young knight she began.
Child Maidelvold|Anonymous
I had to make a dry-camp and my doughnuts is smashed up and the jelly glass broke but I never cried when a skink came.
The Flying U's Last Stand|B. M. Bower

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