skeer-devil 
swing-devil. See cut under Cypselus. [Prov. 
Eng.'] 
skee-runner (ske'ruu"er), H. A person travel- 
ing on skees. 
In almost every valley In the interior of Norway there 
are skee-runners who, in consequence of this constant 
competition, have attained a skill which would seem al- 
most incredible. H. II. Boyesen, in St. Nicholas, X. 311. 
skee-running (ske'run"ing), n. The act, prac- 
tice, or art of traveling on skees; skeeing. 
skeery, . See skcary. 
skeesicks (ske'ziks), . [Origin obscure.] A 
mean, contemptible fellow ; a rascal : often ap- 
plied, like rogue and rascal, as a term of endear- 
ment to children. Bartlett. [Western U. S.] 
Thar ain't nobody bnt him within ten mile of the shanty, 
and that ar' . . . old skeeaicks knows it. 
Bret Uarte, Higgles. 
skeet 1 }, [ME., &lso skete, sket, < Icel. skjotr, 
swift, fleet, <skjota, shoot: see shoot."] 1. Swift; 
fleet. 
This Askathes. the skathill, had sket sones thre. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 13434. 
2. Keen; bold; brave. 
skeetH, ndr. [ME., also skcte; < skeet*, a."] 
Swiftly; quickly. 
A steede ther was sadeled smertely and skeet. 
Tale o/ Qamelijn, 1. 185. 
Thenue ascryed thay [the sailors] hym [Jonah] skete, & 
asked ful loude, 
"What the deuel hats thou don, doted wrech?" 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), iii. 195. 
skeet- (sket), n. [Prob., like shote*, ult. < AS. 
sceota, a trout, < sceotan, shoot : see shoot.] The 
pollack. [Local, Eng.] 
skeet 3 (sket), . [Origin obscure.] A scoop. 
Specifically (a) A scoop used in bleaching linen. Wright. 
(6) A'at/J., a sort of long scoop used to wet the decks and 
Bides of a ship in order to keep them cool, and to prevent 
them from splitting by the heat of the sun. It is also 
employed in small vessels to wet the sails, in order to ren- 
der them more efficacious in light breezes. 
skeet 4 , f. *. A dialectal form of scoot. 
skeeter (ske'ter), n. [A dial, reduction of mos- 
quito."] A mosquito. [Low, U. S.] 
Law, Miss Feely whip ! Wouldn't kill a skeeter. 
S. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, xx. 
skeg' (skeg), n. [Also skag; < Icel. skeyg, a 
beard, the beak or cutwater of a ship; cf. D. 
schegge, knee (in technical use) : see ghag*."] 1. 
The stump of a branch. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 2. A wooden peg. 3. The after part 
of a ship's keel ; also, a heavy metal projection 
abaft a ship's keel for the support of a balance- 
rudder. See cut under balance-rudder. 
skeg- (skeg), n. [Origin uncertain.] 1. A 
kind of wild plum, Primus npinosa or P. insititin. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Sosina, a sloe, a skeg, a bulleis. Florio (1611), p. 515. 
That kind of peaches or abricotes which bee called 
tuberes love better to be gratfed either upon a skey or 
wild plumb stocke, or quince. 
Holland, tr. of Pliny, xvii. 10. 
2. The yellow iris, 7m Pseudacorus. Britten 
and Holland, Eng. Plant Names. [Prov. Eng.] 
3. pi. A kind of oats. Imp. Viet. 
skegger (skeg'er), H. [Origin obscure.] A 
salmon of the first year; a smolt. 
Little salmons, called skeyners, are bred of such sick sal- 
mon, that might not go to the sea. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler. 
skegshore (skeg ' shor), . In ship-building, 
one of the several pieces of plank put up end- 
wise under the skeg of a heavy ship, to steady 
her after part a little at the moment of launch- 
ing. 
skeigh, . and . A Scotch form 
skeil, skeill, . See skeel*. 
skein 1 (skin), n. [Also skain, skean (in the 
last spelling also prori. sken); early mod. 
E. skeyne, < ME. skeyne (cf. OF. escagne, F. 
ecagne (ML. scagna), a skein of thread, etc.); 
(. Ir. sgainiie, a skein, clue, also a fissure, 
flaw, cf. Gael, xgeinnidh, flax or hemp, thread, 
small twine, appar. orig. 'something broken 
off or split off,' hence a piece or portion, < Ir. 
Gael, sgain, split, cleave, rend, burst.] 1. 
A fixed length of any thread or yarn of silk, 
wool, linen, or cotton, doubled again and again 
and knotted. The weight of a skein is generally de- 
termined so that the number of skeins in a given quan- 
tity of thread can be estimated by the weight. Braid, 
binding, etc., are sometimes, though more rarely, sold in 
skeins. 
Skeyne, of threde. Filipulum. Prompt. Pan., p. 457. 
God winds us off the skein, that he may weave us up 
into the whole piece. Donne, Sermons, xi. 
2. A flight or company : said of certain wild 
fowl, as geese or ducks. 
5666 
The curs ran into them as a falcon does into a skein of 
ducks. Kinijtley, llypatia, xlL 
Of Geese, a " string " or " skein," when flying. 
W. W. Greener, The Gun, p. 533. 
3. A shaved split of osier used in wickerwork. 
K. II. KnigM. 4. In a vehicle, the iron head or 
thimble upon the end of a wooden axletree, in- 
clusive of the straps by which it is attached to 
the axle, and which, being set in recesses flush 
with the wood, afford bearing surfaces for the 
box in the hub. 
skein'-'t, . An obsolete form of skeim-. 
skein-screw (skan'skro), . A form of screw 
in which the thread is open and shallow. E. 
II. K nil/lit. 
skein-setter (skan'set'er), n. A machine for 
fitting skeins upon wooden axles. E. H. Ktiii/ht. 
skeldert (skel'der), n. [Origin obscure; cf. 
skellum.'] A vagrant ; a swindler. B. Jonson. 
skelder (skel'der), r. [Cf. skelder, H.] I. iii- 
trans. To practise begging, especially under 
the pretense of being a wounded or disbanded 
soldier; play the swindler; live by begging. 
Also skildcr. [Obsolete or local.] 
Soldier ? yon skeldering varlet ! 
Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 1. 
II. trans. To swindle, especially by assum- 
ing to be a worn-out soldier; hence, in general, 
to cheat; trick; defraud. [Obsolete or local.] 
A man may skelder ye, now and then, of half a dozen 
shillings, or so. . Jonson, Poetaster, iii. 1. 
skeldock (skel'dok), n. Same as skelloclft. 
skeldrake (skel'drak), . 1. Same as shel- 
drake. Also skeeldrake, skeelduck, etc. [Ork- 
ney.] 2. The oyster-catcher,lTmatopM*o<ri- 
legus: a misnomer. See cut under Haematopus. 
C. Swainson. [Orkney.] 
skelet. An old spelling of steel*, skill. 
skelea, Plural of skelos. 
skelett (skel'et), . [Also Sc. skellat ; also see- 
let, and sceletos (as if L.); ME. scelct, < OF. 
scelete, scelette, schelete, esclielette (< L. sceletus), 
also squelete, F. squelette (> G. Sw. skelett = 
D. Dan. skelet) = Sp. Pg. esqtieleto = It. sche- 
letro, < NL, skeleton (according to the Gr. spell- 
ing), L. sceletus, a skeleton, < Gr. ant/sr(n> (sc. 
aufia), a dried body, a mummy, skeleton, neut. 
of ovif/liTof, dried, dried up, parched, < antk'tetv, 
dry, dry up, parch. See skeleton, the usual mod. 
form.] 1. A mummy. 
Scelet; the dead body of a man artificially dried or tanned 
for to be kept or seen a long time. 
Holland, tr. of Plutarch's Morals. (Trench.) 
2. A skeleton. 
For what should I cast away speech upon skelets and 
skulls, carnal men I mean, mere strangers to this life of 
faith? Ren. S. Ward, Sermons, p. 22. 
Skeletal (skel'e-tal), . [< skelet(on) + -al] 
Of or pertaining to a skeleton, in the widest 
sense; forming or formed by a skeleton; en- 
tering into the composition of a skeleton; 
sclerous. 
Of the skeletal structures which these animals possess, 
some are integumentary and exoskeletal. 
Mncyc. Brit., VI. 737. 
Skeletal arches. See visceral arches, under visceral. 
Skeletal muscle, any muscle attached to and acting on 
some part of the skeleton, in contrast with such muscles 
as the sphincters, the heart, or the platysma. Skeletal 
musculature, the muscles attached to the skeleton col- 
lectively considered. 
skeletogenous (skel-e-toj'e-nus), a. [< Gr. OKC- 
Atrov, skeleton, + -jewfc, producing (see -ge- 
O!).] Producing a skeleton; giving rise to 
a skeleton ; entering into the composition of 
the skeleton ; osteogenetic : as, a skeletogenous 
layer; skeletogenous tissue. Gq/enbanr, Comp. 
Anat. (trans.), p. 427. 
skeletogeny (skel-e-toj'e-ni), n. [< Gr. mcf/f- 
r6v, skeleton, + -ylveta, < -}CVTK, producing (see 
-f/eni/)."] The origin and development of the 
skeleton ; the formation of a skeleton. 
skeletography (skel-e-tog'ra-fi), n. [< Gr. 
OVCEACTOV, skeleton, + -ypatyia, < ypaipeiv, write.] 
A description of the skeleton. 
skeletology (skel-e-tol'o-ji), n. [< Gr. me7ier6v, 
skeleton, + -/.oyia, < Uyeiv, speak: see -ology.] 
The sum of scientific knowledge concerning 
the skeleton. 
skeleton (skel'e-ton), n. and a. [Early mod. E. 
and dial, also skelton ; < NL. skeleton (also scele- 
lon. after "Lt. sceletus)', < Gr. o-KcAtroi*, a dried body, 
a mummy, skeleton: see skelet."] I. >i. 1. In 
anat., the dry bones of the body taken together; 
hence, in anat. and zool., some or any hard 
part, or the set of hard parts together, which 
form a support, scaffold, or framework of the 
body, sustaining, inclosing, or protecting soft 
skeleton 
parts or vital organs; connective tissue, espe- 
cially when hard, as when fibrous. cutioular,cor- 
neous, cartilaginous, osseous, chitinous. calca- 
reous, or silicious; an endoskeleton, exoskel- 
eton, dennoskeleton, BclerogkeletOTJ, splanch- 
noskeleton, etc. (See these words.) More spe- 
cificallyla) The test, shell, lorica, or set of spicules of 
any protozoan, as an infusorial), nuliolariun, foraminifer, 
or other animalcule, exhibiting the utmost diversity of 
form, structure, and substance. See cuts under Foraini- 
nifera, Infusoria, and Radiolaria. (b) In sponges, the 
whole sponge except the animalcules which fabricate it. 
(See cut under PoriJ'era.) A bath-sponge, for example, 
is only the skeleton, from which the animals have been 
decomposed and displaced. This skeleton presents it- 
self in three principal textures, the fibrous, chalky, and 
glassy. Ina few cases it is gelatinous. (See Fibrospongia, 
Calcixponyite, Siliciitponyiif, Myxospongia.) A nearly con- 
stant and very characteristic feature of sponge-skeletons 
is the presence of calcareous oV silicious spicules. (See 
spicule.) Spicules in excess of fibrous tissue, and espe- 
cially when consolidated in a kind of network, form the 
glass-sponges, some forms of which are very beautiful. 
(See cut under Euplectella.) Certain minute scleresof some 
sponges are fiesh-spicnles, and belong to the individual 
sponge-animalcules rather than to the general sponge- 
tissue. (Compare microtdere with weaasclere.) (c) The 
special or general hard parts of echinoderms, as the shell 
of a sea-urchin with its spines and OKI] armature ; the 
spicules or scleres in the integument of a holothurian ; 
the rigid parts of starfishes, crinoids, and the like. These 
skeletons are for the most part exoskeletons. See outs 
under Clypeastrida, Echinoinetra, Echinus, and sea-star. 
(rf) The chitinized or calcified integument or crust of 
arthropods, as insects or crustaceans, as the shell of a 
crab, etc. () The shell, or valves of the shell, of a mol- 
lusk or molluscoid, as an oyster-shell or snail-shell. (/) 
The hard parts, when any, as rings, scales, etc., of worms 
and worm-like animals. See cut under Polynoe. (g) 
In Vertebrata : (1) The internal framework of the body, 
usually osseous or bony in the adult for the most part, 
sometimes cartilaginous or gristly; the endoskeleton: 
the skeleton of ordinary language. In a large series of 
Human Skeleton. 
i, frontal bone ; 2, parietal bone ; 3, temporal bone ; 4, coronal su- 
ture ; 6, nasal bone; 7, maxilla; 8, orbital process of malar bone; o, oc- 
cipital bone ; 10, ranlus of mandible ; n. angle of mandible ; 13, man- 
dime, or lower jaw; 13, cervical vertebrae ; 14. thoracic vertebra? ; 15, 
lumbar vertebrae ; 16, sacrum ; 17, coccyx ; 18, costal cartilages ; 19, 
ribs ; 20, prtestemum ; 21, mesostemum ; 23, metastemum; 23, clavicle ; 
24, coracoid ; 25, acromion ; 26, scapula; 27, tuberosity of humerus; 
28, humerus ; 29, condyles of humerus; 30, head of radius; 31, radius: 
32, ulna; 33, styloid processof radius and ulna ; 34, ilium i; 35, anterior 
superior spine of ilium ; 36, anterior inferior spine of ilium ; 37, syro- 
physis puhis ; 78, tuberosity of ischium ; 39. puDis ; 40, obturator fora- 
men ; 41, head of femur ; 42, neck of femur ; 43, greater trochanter 
of femur ; 44, shaft of femur ; 45, condyles of femur ; 46, patella ; 47, 
tuberosity of tibia ; 48, shaft of tibia ; 49, towerendof tibia; 50, fibula. 
fishes the whole skeleton is cartilaginous. In most ver- 
tebrates, however, the cartilage forming the skeleton of 
the embryo or fetus is mainly converted into bone by the 
process of ossification, or deposition of bone-earth, some 
parts, especially of the ribs, remaining as a rule cartilagi- 
nous. The vertebrate endoskeleton conslstsof axial parts, 
ttie axial skeleton, in a series of consecutive segments, the 
vertebra:, with their immediate offshoots, as ribs, and at 
the head end a skull or cranium (except in the Acrania 
or lowest fishes) ; and of appendages, the appendicular 
skeleton, represented by the one or two (never more) 
pairs of limbs, if any, including the pectoral and pelvic 
nrch, or shoulder- and hip-Eirdle, by means of which 
the limbs are attached to the axis or trunk Various 
other ossifications may be and usually are developed in 
