different between skanker vs skank

English

Etymology

skank +? -er

Noun

skanker (plural skankers)

1. Someone who dances the skank.
2. (Jamaican) A dishonest person, a dissolute person.

References

• “skanker n” in Richard Allsopp, Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage (1996).

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skæ?k/
• Rhymes: -æ?k

Etymology 1

Origin unknown. Perhaps from skag (“unattractive woman”), but the origins of skag are unknown. Compare scold (“troublesome woman”), skeevy (“disgusting”). Attested from the 1960s.

Noun

skank (countable and uncountable, plural skanks)

1. (derogatory, slang) A lewd and disreputable person, often female, especially an unattractive person with an air of tawdry promiscuity.
2. Anything that is particularly foul, unhygienic or unpleasant.

Synonyms

• (lewdly disreputable woman): See Thesaurus:promiscuous woman

Derived terms

• skanky

Adjective

skank (comparative more skank, superlative most skank)

1. (derogatory, slang) Lewd, vulgar, skanky.

Etymology 2

Originally Jamaican, attested from the twentieth century, but earliest source is uncertain. The verb sense be dishonest is evidently older. Perhaps originally onomatopoeic. The dance senses may come from a resemblance to motorcyclists weaving in and out of traffic. Compare skanker.

Noun

skank (plural skanks)

1. A dance performed to ska, dub, or reggae music.
2. A style of rhythmic guitar strumming in ska, reggae, and punk.

Verb

skank (third-person singular simple present skanks, present participle skanking, simple past and past participle skanked)

1. To dance the skank.
2. To play guitar with a skank rhythm.
3. (transitive or intransitive, Jamaican) To be dishonest or unreliable, to defraud or deceive, to steal.

Etymology 3

Slang word used in Northern England. Origin unknown. Perhaps from etymology 2, above; attested in West Indian and UK black slang from the twentieth century.

Noun

skank (plural skanks)

1. The act of cheating a person.

   That's not a good deal; it's a skank.

Verb

skank (third-person singular simple present skanks, present participle skanking, simple past and past participle skanked)

1. (transitive) To cheat, especially a friend.

   He short-changed a partner, leaving him feeling skanked.

Derived terms

• skanker

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse skankr. Akin to English shank.

Noun

skank f (definite singular skanka, indefinite plural skjenker, definite plural skjenkene)
skank m (definite singular skanken, indefinite plural skankar, definite plural skankane)

1. (anatomy) thigh, thighbone (especially in animals)
2. (anatomy) shank (especially in animals)
3. (anatomy) hind limb, foot
4. meat from such a part of the body
5. big-boned she-creature, especially an animal with big thighs and hips

Usage notes

• The masculine inflection is not used for the fifth sense.

Related terms

• skinke f

References

• “skank” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• snakk

Swedish

Alternative forms

• skånk

Etymology

Cognate with Danish skank, English shank, used as a noun in Swedish since 1635. The noun is based on an older adjective (now obsolete) skank, skink (limping, lame on one leg).

Noun

skank c

1. a leg (human or animal)

   rör på skankarna!

   move your legs! (walk on, keep moving)

Declension

Related terms

• korsskank
• snarskank

References

• skank in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• skank in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)