skit

Etymology

The noun is related to an earlier verb skit, to caper or be skittish (1611), but its history before that is unclear.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The verb may be a back-formation from skittish,^[2][4][7][3] itself perhaps from a Scandinavian base;^[2][4] alternatively it is perhaps from Old Norse *skytja, built on the weak grade of skjóta (“to shoot, move quickly”),^{[2][3][5][8][9]} cognate with Old English scēotan, the source of shoot.^[3][10][11] Collins and Klein take the word as of Scandinavian origin,^[6][10] while the American Heritage Dictionary calls it of unknown origin^[12] and Dictionary.com obscure.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vain, frivolous or wanton young woman: about 1571, in a Scottish translation of George Buchanan's attack on Mary, Queen of Scots.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline suggests that the sense "satirical remark" grew out of the earlier "frivolous girl".^[3] The OED and the Shorter Oxford relate the satirical senses to the verb, and Collins explains them from "to move rapidly", hence to score a quick satirical hit.^[2][5][6] Bailey's dictionary of 1727 has skit for a satirical reflection or hit at someone,^[2][4] Grose (1796) defined it as a joke or a satirical hint,^[14] and in 1820 William Combe used it for a short piece of light satire or parody.^[2][3] From the later 18th century the verb also meant to ridicule someone in this way.^[2][5] In the 20th century, especially in North America, a skit became a short comic sketch in a revue or a short informal performance, often by amateurs, used to teach or present something.^[2][7] In Scots and northern dialects the noun also meant a taunt, a hint or a piece of scandal, and the verb to caper like a restive horse or to slide;^[15] the sense "a light shower of rain or snow" (1847) is now chiefly Scottish.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 1571 – a vain, frivolous or wanton young woman (chiefly Scottish).^[2][3]
• 1611 – verb, to shy, to caper or move lightly and quickly, in Chapman's May-Day.^[2][3]
• 1727 – a satirical remark or hit at someone, in Bailey's dictionary.^[2][4][7]
• 1781 – verb, to ridicule someone with light satire.^[2]
• 1815 – a trick, hoax or practical joke, in Scott's Guy Mannering.^[2]
• 1820 – a piece of light satire, parody or caricature.^[2][3][4]
• 1847 – a light shower of rain or snow.^[2]
• 1926 – North American, a short informal performance used to teach or present information.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A short comic or satirical sketch, often part of a revue or amateur show: The interns put on a skit about the boss's tie collection.^[6][7][2]
2. A short satirical piece of writing; a parody or burlesque.^[6][7][2]
3. A jeering or satirical remark; a jibe.^[7][2][5]
4. (chiefly dialect) A trick or hoax.^[6][2][5]
5. (archaic) A vain or frivolous young woman (chiefly Scottish).^[2][5][3]

Verb

1. To make satirical remarks, usually followed by at.^[7][2]
2. To satirize or caricature someone in a skit.^[7][2][5]
3. (rare) To move lightly and quickly; to caper.^[2][5][7]

Related words

• skittish
• skite
• skitter
• shoot

Usage notes

An older noun skit, with a separate source, meaning diarrhoea in animals, especially sheep, is from Scandinavian, related to Old Norse skítr (“excrement”) and to English shit; it is now Scottish and dialect.^[2][5][7] In Irish English skit means amusing, apparently from Irish sciót (“cut, bit, laugh”); the OED's first record is in Joyce's Dubliners (1914).^[2]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
13. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
14. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)