264 
S K E 
SKELTON, a parish of England, West Riding of York¬ 
shire ; 4 miles south-east of Rippon. 
SKELWITH, a township of England, in Lancashire; Si¬ 
miles north of Hawkshead. 
SKEMATA, a village of Greece, in the plain of Tanagra, 
in Attica, near the supposed site of Tanagra. 
SKENDLEBY, a parish of England, in Lincolnshire; 3 
miles north-east of Spilsby. 
SKENE, a parish of Scotland, in Aberdeenshire, of an 
oval form, 6 miles long and 3| broad. Population 1297. 
SKENEATILES, a post village of the United States, in 
Onondaga county. New York. It is most delightfully situ¬ 
ated around the west end of Skeneatiles’ lake, and is a large, 
handsome and flourishing village; 163 miles west of 
Albany. 
SKENEATILES, a lake of the United States, in the west 
part of Onondaga county. New York, 15 miles long, and 
from | to 1J broad. Skeneatiles’ Creek flows from the north 
end to Seneca river, about 13 miles, and affords many fine 
mill seats. 
SKENECTADY. See Schenectady. 
SKENSBOROUGH. See Whitehall. 
SKENFRETH, a parish of England, in Monmouth¬ 
shire ; 7 miles north<-north-west of Monmouth. Popula¬ 
tion 348. 
SKENFRETH CASTLE, a fortress of England, in 
the county of Monmouth, supposed to be the most ancient 
in the county. It is situated on the banks of the Monnow, 
about 3 miles distant from Newcastle, and to the north of 
the Monmouth road. It appears to have been erected for 
the defence of the river, or to secure the defiles of the adjacent 
mountains. It has not been much visited by travellers, from 
its sequestered situation, and the difficulty of access. Its 
construction is very simple, its area being merely surrounded 
by a strong curtain wall, flanked with a circular tower at 
each angle. The area is 160 feet in length, and 170 at the 
broadest, and 84 at the narrowest part. The style of archi¬ 
tecture places it anterior to the Norman period, and the 
whole aspect of the building indicates it to have been a 
British structure. Connected with Landeilo and Grosmont 
castles, and, subsequent to the Norman invasion, generally 
possessed by the same person, its name but seldom occurs in 
history, and its history merges into that of the former for¬ 
tresses, becoming with them part of the duchy of Lancaster, 
to which it now belongs. 
SKENINGE, a small town of Sweden, in East Gothland, 
on the small river Ken a ; 20 miles west-by- south of Oder- 
SKEOTISVAY, an island of the Hebrides, about a mile 
long, lying in East Loch Tarbert, in Harris. , 
SKEP, s. [fcep, Saxon.] A sort of basket, narrow at 
the bottom, and wide at the top to fetch corn in. Unused ,— 
A pitchfork, a doongeforke, seevev sleep, and a bin. Tusser. 
—In Scotland, the repositories where the bees lay their honey 
is still called sleep. Dr. Johnson .—A bee-hive is also called 
a sleep in some parts of England.' [Sgeip, Gael, a bee-bive. 
Show. 
SKEP, ih Agriculture, a coarse round 'farm basket. It is 
also provincial 1 y used to signify a bee-hive. 
SKEPSHAM, a small sea-port in the central part of Swe¬ 
den, province.of Medelpadia. 
SKEPTICK, s, [ cKenrliKot Gr.] This word Dr. John¬ 
son writes sceptic .']—He is a scepticlce, and dares hardly 
give credit to his senses. Bp. Hall.— Bring the cause unto 
the bar; whose authority none must disclaim, and least of 
all those sceptic ks in religion. Dec. of Piety. 
Survey 
Nature’s extended face, then scepticles say. 
In this wide field of wonders can you find 
No art. Blackmore. 
With too much knowledge for the sceptick's side, 
With too much weakness for the stoick’s pride, 
Man hangs between. Pope . 
S K E 
The dogmatist is sure of every thing, and the sceptick be¬ 
lieves nothing. Watts. 
SKE'PTICAL, adj. [for Sce'ptical]. May the Father 
of mercies confirm the sceptical and wavering minds, and 
so prevent us that stand fast, in all our doings, and further 
us with his continual help. Bentley. 
SKEPTICALLY, adv. [for Sceptically.] There are 
those who do not abandon themselves to desperate atheism, 
nor sceptically cast off all care of religion. Goodman. 
SKEPTICISM, s. Universal doubt; profession of uni¬ 
versal doubt.—1 laid by my natural diffidence and scepticism 
for a while, to take up that dogmatick way. Dryden. 
To SKEPTICIZE, v. n. To doubt of every thing.—You 
can afford to scepticize, where no one else will so much as 
hesitate. Ld. Shaftsbury, 
SKERAT, a rock in the Caledonian sea, near the west 1 
coast of Skye. Lat. 57. 24. N. long. 6. 40. W. 
SKERGULE, a rocky island, near the south-west coast 
of Mull. Lat. 56. 18. N. long. 6. 21. W. 
SKERIVORE ROCKS, rocks in the North sea, west of 
Scotland. Lat. 56. 19. N. long. 7. 3. W. 
SKERNE, a parish of England, East Riding of York¬ 
shire ; 2 miles south-east of Great Driffield. 
SKERNE, a small river of England, in Durham, which 
runs into the Tees at Crossbridge. 
SKERRIES, or Skerry Isles, three small islands of 
Shetland, lying 15 miles north-east from the isle of Whalsay, 
and nearly 20 from the Mainland. In 1792, they contained 
11 families, or 70 inhabitants. 
SKERRIES, rocks on the north coast of Ireland, near the 
mouth of the river Bann. 
SKERTON, a township of England, in Lancashire, three 
quarters of a mile from Lancaster. Population 1254. 
SKETBY, a small river of Wales, in Merionethshire, 
which falls into the Irish sea. 
To SKETCH, v. a. [schetsen, Dutch, or German schitx 
(a sketch), from schalten, a shadow,] To draw, by tracing 
the outline.—If a picture is daubed with many glaring 
colours, the vulgar eye admires it; whereas he judges very 
contemptuously of some admirable design sketched out only 
with a black pencil, though by the hand of Raphael. 
Watts. —To plan, by giving the first or principal notion.— 
The reader I’ll leave in the midst of silence, to contemplate 
those ideas which I have only sketch'd, and which every 
man must finish for himself. Dryden. 
SKETCH, s. [ schets , Dutch, from the verb schetsen.] 
An outline; a rough draught; a first plan. 
As the lightest sketch , if justly trac’d, 
Is by ill colouring but the more disgrac’d. 
So by false learning is good sense defac’d. Pope. 
SKETCHLEY, a hamlet of England, in Leicestershire; 
2 miles south-east of Hinckley. 
SKEW, adj. [skimv, or skaev, Dan.; skef Goth, 
from ska.] Oblique; distorted. —. Here’s a gallimaufry 
of speech indeed. —-1 remember about the year 1602 many 
used this skew kind of language. Brewer. 
SKEW, ado. Awry. 
To SKEW, v. a. To look obliquely upon; figuratively, 
to notice slightly. 
Our service 
Neglected, and look’d lamely on, and skew'd at 
With a few honourable words. Beaum. and FI. 
To shape or form in an oblique way.—-Windows broad 
within and narrow without, or skewed and closed. Kings. 
To SKEW, v. n To walk obliquely. Still used in 
some parts of the north.—. -Child, you must walk strait, 
without skiewing and shading to every step you set. 
L' Estrange. : 
SKE'WER, s. [ slccrc, Danish.] A wooden or iron pin, 
used to keep meat in form. 
I once may overlook, 
A skewer sent to table by my cook. King. 
To SKE'WER, v. a . To fasten with skewers. 
SKEWSBY, 
