Etymologically
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skunk

Etymology and origin of the English word skunk

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /skʌŋk/[1]

Etymology

Earlier squunck,[2][3] from a southern New England Algonquian language, probably Massachusett,[4][3][5][6] going back to Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from *šek- “to urinate” and *-a·kw “fox, fox-like animal”.[3][5][6] Barnhart instead suggests Abnaki seganku.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The North American animal of the weasel family known for its foul-smelling spray (1634).[7][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The skunk was one of the earliest North American animals described by Europeans.[3] By 1841 the name was used as an insult for a mean or contemptible person.[7][3] The verb comes from games: it meant “to fail” in 1831, in reference to not getting a king in checkers,[7][3] and “to defeat”, especially without letting the opponent score, by 1843.[7][5] Later verb senses are “to fail to pay (a bill)” (1851) and “to cheat” (1890).[7]

Timeline

  • 1634 – the animal, as squuncke.[7][2][5]
  • 1701 – the spelling skunk.[2]
  • 1831 – verb, to fail (in a game).[7][3]
  • 1841 – a contemptible person.[7][3]
  • 1843 – to defeat, to keep from scoring.[7][5]
  • 1851 – to fail to pay.[7]
  • 1945 – US military slang, an unidentified ship.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of several small black-and-white New World mammals, chiefly of the genus Mephitis, that spray a foul-smelling liquid from glands near the anus when threatened.
  2. The fur of this animal.
  3. (informal) A thoroughly obnoxious or contemptible person.

Verb

  1. To defeat overwhelmingly, especially by keeping the opponent from scoring; to shut out.
  2. To cheat, or to fail to pay (a debt).

Word family

  • skunkworks
  • skunky

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Skunk.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/skunk. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·