Skin Meaning
/skɪn/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.
nounThe outer protective layer of the fruit of a plant.
Sentence Examples
Had it not been for your raincoat, I would have been drenched to the skin.
I was drenched to the skin because of the heavy rain.
There is a direct correlation between exposure to sun and skin cancer.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor examined the patient's ____ for any signs of a red rash.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to wear sunscreen to protect your ____ from the sun's harmful UV rays.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Her skin is pale like chicken skin, after you have peel[ed] all the feathers."
— 2020, Abi Daré, The Girl With The Louding Voice, Sceptre, page 184:
"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."
— 2017, Christian Picciolini, White American Youth:
"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."
— 1984, Maxwell John Charlesworth, Howard Morphy, Diane Bell, Religion in Aboriginal Australia: An Anthology, page 361:
"the Bacchic train,
Who brought their skins of wine, and loaded poles
That bent with mighty clusters of black grapes"
— 1843, Richard Henry Horne, Orion:
"The skin of the sail is made of stretch-resistant Mylar"
— (Can we date this quote?), “Textile Technology Digest”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor examined the patient's ____ for any signs of a red rash.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to wear sunscreen to protect your ____ from the sun's harmful UV rays.