Etimology
From Middle English skyn, skinn, from Old English scinn, from Old Norse skinn (“animal hide”), from Proto-Germanic *skinþą, from Proto-Indo-European *sken- (“to split off”), nasal variant of *skeh₁i-d- (“to cut”). See also Dutch schinde (“bark”), dialectal German Schinde (“fruit peel”); also Breton skant (“scales”), Old Irish ceinn, Irish scainim (“I tear, burst”), Latin scindere (“to split, divide”), Sanskrit छिनत्ति (chinátti, “he splits”). Partially displaced native Old English hȳd (“skin, hide”), see hide. More at shed. Not related to shin.
noun
skin (countable and uncountable, plural skins)
(uncountable) The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.
(uncountable) The outer protective layer of the fruit of a plant.
(countable) The skin and fur of an individual animal used by humans for clothing, upholstery, etc.
(countable) A congealed layer on the surface of a liquid.
(countable, computing, graphical user interface) A set of resources that modifies the appearance and/or layout of the graphical user interface of a computer program.
(countable, video games) An alternate appearance (texture map or geometry) for a character model in a video game.
(countable, slang) Rolling paper for cigarettes.
(countable, slang) Clipping of skinhead.
(Australia) A subgroup of Australian aboriginal people; such divisions are cultural and not related to an individual′s physical skin.
(slang) Bare flesh, particularly bare breasts.
A vessel made of skin, used for holding liquids.
(nautical) That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole.
(nautical) The covering, as of planking or iron plates, outside the framing, forming the sides and bottom of a vessel; the shell; also, a lining inside the framing.
(aviation) The outer surface covering much of the wings and fuselage of an aircraft.
A drink of whisky served hot.
(slang, Ireland, British) person, chap
(UK, thieves slang, obsolete) A purse.
Examples
Her skin is pale like chicken skin, after you have peel[ed] all the feathers.
He is so disgusting he makes my skin crawl.
In order to get to the rest of the paint in the can, you′ll have to remove the skin floating on top of it.
You can use this skin to change how the browser looks.
Pass me a skin, mate.
By the end of the show, fights would break out all over the place: the Atlantic City skins against the crew from Philly; the oldschool skinheads feuding with overzealous fresh-cuts.
The younger brother questions the correctness of the pursuit of the girls. "They may be of the wrong subsection," he suggests. "We can take wrong skins," says the older brother, but the younger still holds back.
Let me see a bit of skin.
the Bacchic train,Who brought their skins of wine, and loaded polesThat bent with mighty clusters of black grapes
The skin of the sail is made of stretch-resistant Mylar
He was a decent old skin.
PAUDI:”I fucking love the pair of ye! You’re good lads. You’re loyal skins”
[…] and away I scampered with the tiddlywink-table, while Teddy Limber […] frisked the yokel of his yack and skin.
Related words
synonyms
(outer covering of living tissue): dermis, integument, tegument
(outer protective layer of a plant or animal): peel (of fruit or vegetable), pericarp
(skin of an animal used by humans): hide, pelt
(congealed layer on the surface of a liquid): film
(subgroup of Australian Aboriginals): moiety, section, subsection
hyponyms
banana skin
buckskin
calfskin
cumskin
deerskin
doeskin
goatskin
goose skin
lambskin
loinskin
moleskin
pigskin
sealskin
second skin
sharkskin
sheepskin
snakeskin
waterskin
wineskin
yakskin
verb
skin (third-person singular simple present skins, present participle skinning, simple past and past participle skinned)
(transitive) To injure the skin of.
(transitive) To remove the skin and/or fur of an animal or a human.
(colloquial) To high five.
(transitive, computing, colloquial) To apply a skin to (a computer program).
(UK, soccer, transitive) To use tricks to go past a defender.
(intransitive) To become covered with skin.
(transitive) To cover with skin, or as if with skin; hence, to cover superficially.
(US, slang, archaic) To produce, in recitation, examination, etc., the work of another for one's own, or to use cribs, memoranda, etc., which are prohibited.
(slang, dated) To strip of money or property; to cheat.
(intransitive, obsolete, slang) To sneak off.
Examples
He fell off his bike and skinned his knee on the concrete.
Can I skin the application to put the picture of my cat on it?
The Russian, sometimes out of sorts in recent weeks, was seeing plenty of the ball on the left-hand side up against Hunt, a 20-year-old right-back making his first Huddersfield start. Arshavin skinned the youngster at the first opportunity and crossed for Bendtner, who could not direct his close-range effort on target.
A wound eventually skins over.
It will but skin and film the ulcerous place.
Related words
synonyms
(injure the skin of): bark, chafe, excoriate, graze, scrape
(remove the skin of): flay, fleece, flense, scalp