skirt

Etymology

From Middle English skyrte, from Old Norse skyrta, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ. Doublet of shirt. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Skoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skørt (“skirt”), Swedish skört (“hem of a jacket”), Norwegian skjørt (“skirt”).

noun

1. An article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower part of the body.
   "I like purple best," said Maida. "And old Schlegel has promised to make it for $8. It's going to be lovely. I'm going to have a plaited skirt and a blouse coat trimmed with a band of galloon under a white cloth collar with two rows of—" c. 1907, O. Henry, The Purple Dress
2. The part of a dress or robe, etc., that hangs below the waist.
   The petticoats and skirts ordinarily worn are decidedly the heaviest part of the dress ; hence it is necessary that some reform should be effected in these. 1885, Ada S. Ballin, chapter XI, in The Science of Dress in Theory and Practice
   “It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!” Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. 1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Red-Headed League
3. A loose edging to any part of a dress.
   A narrow lace, or a small skirt of fine ruffled linen, which runs along the upper part of the stays before, and crosses the breast, being a part of the tucker, is called the modesty piece. July 27, 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian no. 118
4. A petticoat.
5. (derogatory, slang) A woman.
   "Mate," said the Cockney, after we'd finished about half the bottle, "it comes to me that we're a couple o' blightin' idjits to be workin' for a skirt." "What d'ya mean?" I asked, taking a pull at the bottle. "Well, 'ere's us, two red-blooded 'e-men, takin' orders from a lousy little frail, 'andin' the swag h'over to 'er, and takin' wot she warnts to 'and us, w'en we could 'ave the 'ole lot. Take this job 'ere now--" 1931, Robert E. Howard, Alleys of Peril
6. (UK, colloquial) Women collectively, in a sexual context.
7. (UK, colloquial) Sexual intercourse with a woman.
8. Border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything.
9. The diaphragm, or midriff, in animals

verb

1. To be on or form the border of.
   The plain was skirted by rows of trees.
2. To move around or along the border of; to avoid the center of.
   skirt a mountain
   As we skirted the shores of the Dornoch Firth, between Tain and Bonar Bridge, the views across the water to the Sutherland mountains were particularly fine in the early morning sunshine. 1950 January, Arthur F. Beckenham, “With British Railways to the Far North”, in Railway Magazine, page 6
   A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays. […] This would also let high-speed trains skirt cities as moving platforms ferry passengers to and from the city centre. 2013-06-01, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
   I'd forgotten how scenic parts of the line are - the railway crosses a host of streams while meandering through meadows or skirting woodland. November 18 2020, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in Rail, page 51
3. To cover with a skirt; to surround.
4. To avoid or ignore (something); to manage to avoid (something or a problem); to skate by (something).
   He skirted the issue of which parties to attend by staying at home instead.