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skoal

[skohl]
interjection
  1. (used as a toast in drinking someone's health.)
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noun
  1. a toast.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to drink a toast.
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Origin of skoal

1590–1600; < Danish skaal, Norwegian, Swedish skål; compare Old Norse skāl bowl
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for skoal

Historical Examples

  • But Wulnoth had fled back, and was let into the hold by the men, who cried "Skoal" to him.

    Wulnoth the Wanderer

    Herbert Escott-Inman

  • This, I suspect, is to be about her first real tussle; skoal to the victor!

    The Tinder-Box

    Maria Thompson Daviess

  • Skal or skoal was the Norwegian word used in drinking a health.

  • Then did the vikings leap up and run to Wulnoth and lift him, and carry him round on their shoulders, crying "Skoal" to him.

    Wulnoth the Wanderer

    Herbert Escott-Inman

  • Skoal to thee, Edward, for both thy foes are slain and thou shalt reign in peace.

    Wulnoth the Wanderer

    Herbert Escott-Inman

Word Origin and History for skoal

interj.

also skol, Scandinavian toasting word, c.1600, from Danish skaal "a toast," literally "bowl, cup," from Old Norse skal "bowl, drinking vessel," originally a cup made from a shell, from Proto-Germanic *skelo, from PIE *(s)kel- (1) "to cut" (see shell (n.)). The word first appears in Scottish English, and may have been connected to the visit of James VI of Scotland to Denmark in 1589.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper