skin

Definition

The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.

Etymology

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”). Partially displaced native Old English hȳd (“skin, hide”), from which derives hide. Cognate with Dutch schinde (“bark”), dialectal German Schinde (“fruit peel”); also Breton skant (“scales”), Old Irish cenn (“covering, shell”), Irish scáin (“to tear, burst”), Latin scindō (“to split, divide”), Sanskrit छिनत्ति (chinátti, “to split”).

Example Sentences

• "He is so disgusting he makes my skin crawl."
• "Her skin is pale like chicken skin, after you have peel[ed] all the feathers."
• "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."

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