skiff

Etymology

It is borrowed from French esquif,^[2][3][4][5] from Old Italian schifo (“little boat”),^[5][6][2][7] of Germanic origin,^[5][6] probably from Old High German scif (“ship, boat”),^[8][3][2] and so related to ship.^[7][4] Hoad gives the immediate Germanic source of the Italian as Lombardic *skif.^[9] The route is not settled: the OED allows French, Spanish esquife, Portuguese esquife or the Italian directly,^[8] Merriam-Webster gives Middle French or Old Italian,^[6] and Dictionary.com goes straight to early Italian.^[10] Johnson (1755) compared Latin scapha.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small boat: the Middle English Dictionary's only quotation is from before 1500, a customs record reading Item, of a skif tasill.^[12] Barnhart has the same date, Etymonline about 1500, and Merriam-Webster the 15th century.^[13][2][6] The OED's first quotation is from 1578, in T. Nicholas's translation of Gómara,^[8] and Dictionary.com dates it to 1565–75.^[10]

Semantic evolution

At first a skiff was the small boat of a ship.^[2][14] The OED defines its early sense as a small seagoing boat for rowing and sailing, especially one attached to a ship for communication, transport and towing.^[8][3] From 1793 it could be a light boat for pleasure or sculling, and then a long, narrow racing boat for one rower.^[8][9] A light sailing boat used on the Saint Lawrence is recorded from 1891.^[8] Merriam-Webster also lists a small fast powerboat.^[6] The verb followed from the noun: Shakespeare and Fletcher have it in The Two Noble Kinsmen, before 1625, for crossing a river in a skiff,^[8] and it was used for rowing or sculling from 1865, in Dickens.^[8]

Timeline

• before 1500 – a small boat.^[12][13] The OED's first quotation is from 1578.^[8]
• before 1625 – verb, to cross a river in a skiff.^[8]
• 1793 – a sculling or pleasure boat.^[8]
• 1865 – verb, to row or scull in a skiff.^[8]
• 1891 – a light sailing boat of the Saint Lawrence.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small light boat moved by oars, sail or motor.^[15][6]
2. A light rowboat, especially one for a single rower.^[6][3]
3. A small boat attached to a ship for transport and communication.^[8][3]
4. A light boat with a centreboard and spritsail, as used on the Saint Lawrence.^[6][8]
5. A small fast powerboat.^[6]

Verb

1. To row, scull or travel in a skiff.^[6][8][3]

Word family

• skiffless

Related words

• ship

Usage notes

A Scots verb skiff, to move lightly or touch lightly in passing, recorded from 1725, is perhaps an alteration of skift and has a separate source;^[8][6][3] the Scots noun for a slight gust of wind or shower of rain, from 1827, comes from that verb.^[8][3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
13. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
15. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins