† skewn.1
Obsolete.
1. The sky or heaven.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sky, heavens > [noun]
roofeOE
welkinc825
heaveneOE
heightOE
heavenOE
liftOE
loftOE
welkin1122
skies?a1289
firmamentc1290
skewa1300
spherea1300
skewsc1320
hemispherec1374
cope of heavenc1380
clouda1400
skya1425
elementc1485
axle-treea1522
scrowc1540
pole1572
horizona1577
vaulta1586
round?1593
the cope1596
pend1599
floor1600
canopy1604
cope1609
expansion1611
concameration1625
convex1627
concave1635
expansum1635
blue1647
the expanse1667
blue blanket1726
empyrean1727
carry1788
span1803
overhead1865
a1300 E.E. Psalter xvii. 13 Mirke watres þat ware ofe hewe In þe kloudes of þe skewe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 1341 Þis tree was of sa mykil in siȝt, þat to þe skew raȝt þe top.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 483 Ho [sc. the dove] skyrmez vnder skwe & skowtez aboute.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10182 The skew [MS. skrew], for þe skrykyng & skremyng of folke, Redoundet with dyn.
2. plural. The skies, heavens, or clouds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sky, heavens > [noun]
roofeOE
welkinc825
heaveneOE
heightOE
heavenOE
liftOE
loftOE
welkin1122
skies?a1289
firmamentc1290
skewa1300
spherea1300
skewsc1320
hemispherec1374
cope of heavenc1380
clouda1400
skya1425
elementc1485
axle-treea1522
scrowc1540
pole1572
horizona1577
vaulta1586
round?1593
the cope1596
pend1599
floor1600
canopy1604
cope1609
expansion1611
concameration1625
convex1627
concave1635
expansum1635
blue1647
the expanse1667
blue blanket1726
empyrean1727
carry1788
span1803
overhead1865
c1320 Cast. Love 1494 Þ e wey he made vs to lede Þorw þe skewes [Fr. nuwes], þer he eode.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1206 Hiȝe skelt was þe askry þe skewes an-vnder.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 9637 That day was full derke..With a Ropand Rayne rut fro the skewes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
skewn.2
/skjuː/, U.S. /skju/ 1. † a. A stone specially intended or adapted for being placed with other similar ones to form the sloping head or coping of a gable, rising slightly above the level of the roof. Obsolete.collective.1428 in J. B. Heath Some Acct. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1869) 6 Ashler, coyne, skew, ragge, chalke, flint, tyles, and estriche boarde.1533 in J. Bayley Hist. Tower London (1821) I. App. p. xxix In skew and crests to the same spacys on the west side.1533 in J. Bayley Hist. Tower London (1821) I. App. p. xxix At the Juell Hows doore, iij. spacys covered wt skew and crest.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > building stone > for roofing > specific pieces of
skew1278
ridge stone1788
barge-stones1833
skew-stone1833
1278 Bursar's Rolls, Merton Coll. in Archæol. Jrnl. (1846) 2 143 Item eidem iij.s. iij.d. per xx pedibus in longitudine de quibusdam lapidibus qui vocantur scuwes et ponuntur in opere in tecto parve domus retro coquinam.
1288 Bursar's Rolls, Merton Coll. in Archæol. Jrnl. 2 143 Item in xviij ped' de skyues empt' xviij.d, precium pedis j.d.
1359–60 in F. R. Chapman Sacrist Rolls Ely (1907) II. 193 In iiijxx iiij ped. de skewes empt., prec. pedis j.d.
1445–6 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 392 45½ feet of ‘Scuez’..are bought for the construction of the walls.]
1635 in Paterson Hist. Musselburgh (1857) 146 vijc double and single treis, and about jm, skewis.
b. The line of coping on a gable. Chiefly Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > [noun] > gable > parts of
skew1789
thack-gate1825
saddle stone1843
1789 D. Davidson Thoughts Seasons 43 High on the sklentin skew, or thatched eave, The sparrow..Seeks out a dwelling-place.
1823 J. Galt Entail II. xiii. 120 I paid..the Glasgow mason..for the count o' his sklater that pointed the skews o' the house.
1861 H. Stephens & R. S. Burn Bk. Farm-buildings §279 There are no skews [in this gable], the slating projecting over the walls.
c. A skew-corbel (see 2).The genuineness of this sense is somewhat doubtful.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > pediment > on gable end of roof > specific part
skew-corbel1833
skew-put1833
skew1845
1845 J. H. Parker Gloss. Terms Archit. (ed. 4) I. 340 The term skew is still used in the north for a stone built into the bottom of a gable or other similar situation to support the coping above.
2. attributive, as skew-corbel, skew-put, skew-stone, skew-table.Parker appears to have formed skew-table out of scutable, which is given by J. T. Smith Antiq. Westm. (1807) 207 in a translated document of 1330; on the same page occurs sencrestes, which may be a misreading of scu-crestes.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > building stone > for roofing > specific pieces of
skew1278
ridge stone1788
barge-stones1833
skew-stone1833
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > pediment > on gable end of roof > specific part
skew-corbel1833
skew-put1833
skew1845
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §947 The gables are to be slated over, and the skew-stones (the coping-stones of the gables, called barge-stones in England) are to be laid over the slates, but to project 3 inches over..the walls.
1845 J. H. Parker Gloss. Terms Archit. (ed. 4) 340 Skew-table was probably the course of stone weathered, or sloped, on the top, placed over a continuous set-off in a wall.
1850 J. Ogilvie Imperial Dict. , Skew-corbel Skew-put, a stone built into the bottom of a gable to support the coping above.
1851 T. H. Turner Some Acct. Domest. Archit. I. ii. 31 The spring stones or skew-tables of the gables.
3. A slate used in forming the gutter of a roof.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > building stone > stone of the nature of slate > for roofing > piece of > used for gutter
skew1899
1899 Evesham Jrnl. 1 Apr. 7/6 The centre one is the ‘bottomer’, on either side are two ‘lie-byes’, and above and below in the next courses two ‘skews’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
skewn.3
/skjuː/, U.S. /skju/ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [noun] > sideways
side-lookinga1500
side looka1586
blench1609
side glance1611
leera1616
skew1622
askewa1641
gloat1645
glega1650
by-glancea1658
squint1673
by-view1753
sklent1818
glee1828
squinny1902
1622 S. Ward Christ All in All (1627) 29 Whateuer good workes we doe with an eye from his, and a skew vnto our owne names,..the more penaltie of pride belongs vnto vs.
1884 G. Forbes in W. Thomson Molecular Dynamics 289 So the coefficients sighed and gave a last tangential skew And a shook hands with b & c and S and T and U, And with a tear they parted.
2.
a. A slant; a deviation from the straight line; an angle, esp. that at which a bridge spans a road or river; a sideward movement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [noun] > an inclination
bevel1678
skew1688
sklent1768
spring1793
snape1794
cant1881
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 261/2 Scew or Campher, is the cutting off of a corner of a Wall.
1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 232/2 The projections of all the lines of pressure are equal to..each other,..whatever may be the angle of the skew.
1885 Sci. Amer. 1 Aug. 64 In the completed structure there are..no two skews alike.
1903 Daily Chron. 18 Feb. 3/3 The skew in the chancel he attributes..to an alteration having been carried out by rule of thumb.
b. transferred. A slip, an error.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [noun]
misnimming?c1225
errora1340
defaulta1387
balkc1430
fault1523
jeofail1546
errat1548
trip1548
naught1557
missa1568
missinga1568
slide1570
snappera1572
amiss1576
mistaking1579
misprize1590
mistake1600
berry-block1603
solecism1603
fallibility1608
stumblea1612
blota1657
slur1662
incorrectnessa1771
bumble1823
skew1869
(to make) a false step1875
slip-up1909
ricket1958
bad1981
1869 F. J. Furnivall in Queene Elizabethes Achademy Pref. p. xvii Thus one of the many skews in the Harleian Catalogue was set straight.
c. on the (or a) skew, on the slant, slantwise.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > obliquely [phrase]
on (the) slenta1400
of squinc1440
at angles with1646
on the angle1753
on the (or a) skew1881
on the slant1884
on a slant1951
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > to the side or aside [phrase] > obliquely
on the (or a) skew1881
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §399. 175 All these bits are secured in the main stock on a skew.
1891 C. T. C. James Romantic Rigmarole 174 Birds that flew dead straight, birds that seemed to work on the skew.
1894 Times 22 Sept. 13/4 Over the Lune, which is crossed on the skew, the span is 350 ft.
d. Geometry. = regulus n. 5. (Cf. skew adj. 2.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > surface > [noun]
superficec1400
superficies1530
surface1604
superficie1702
wave-surface1833
developable1847
quartic1854
scroll1862
conicoid1863
regulus1874
Riemann surface1876
tetrahedroid1889
construct1902
skew1902
trend surface1956
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 660/1 A Ruled Surface, Regulus, or Skew is a configuration of lines which..depend on only one parameter... The simplest example, that of a quadric surface, is really two skews on the same surface.
3. Mining. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > features of stratum or vein > [noun] > rise or bulge in roof or floor
skew1789
roll1849
swell1855
hogback1867
horseback1881
1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. 27 Skews and backs are only local joints of an irregular curved figure, which often resemble hitches.
1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. 330 A skew is an irregular discontinuous mineral fissure,..which generally lies in a very slanting irregular position.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 224 Skews,..irregularities in the roof indicating danger from falls.
4. Statistics. Skewness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > distribution > skewness
skewness1894
non-centrality1949
skew1974
1974 Listener 7 Nov. 595/2 The skew in the graph is at both ends.
1978 Nature 2 Mar. 39/1 The distribution is not symmetrical but displays positive skew, a feature held in common with observations at lower frequencies.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† skewn.4
Cant. Obsolete.
A cup; a wooden dish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun]
chalicec825
napeOE
copc950
fullOE
cupc1000
canOE
shalec1075
scalec1230
maselin?a1300
mazer1311
richardine1352
dish1381
fiole1382
pece1383
phialc1384
gobletc1400
bowl-cup1420
chalice-cup1420
crusec1420
mazer-cup1434
goddard1439
stoup1452
bicker1459
cowl1476
tankard1485
stop1489
hanapa1513
skull1513
Maudlin cup1544
Magdalene cup?a1549
mazer bowl1562
skew1567
shell1577
godet1580
mazard1584
bousing-can1590
cushion1594
glove1609
rumkin1636
Maudlin pot1638
Pimlico1654
mazer dish1656
mug1664
tumbler1664
souce1688
streaker1694
ox-eye1703
false-cup1708
tankard-cup1745
poculum1846
phiale1867
tumbler-cup1900
stem-cup1915
sippy cup1986
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. Giii A skew, a cuppe.
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. F4v This is Bien Bowse, this is Bien Bowse, Too little is my Skew.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Skew, a Begger's Wooden Dish.
1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. i. 224/2 To thy Bugher [= dog] and thy Skew, Fitch and Jybes, I bid adieu.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
skewn.5
/skjuː/, U.S. /skju/ Cornish dialect.
A drizzling rain; a driving mist. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun] > light or fine rain
roke1292
mull-rain1440
mizzle1490
rugc1540
drizzlea1612
dag1808
smur1808
sprinkle1829
skew1839
fret1982
1839 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) I. v. 128 I am in a regular Cornish skew as to the future,..can't see an inch before me.
1880– in Cornish glossaries.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
skewn.6
/skjuː/, U.S. /skju/ Harrow School slang.
1. A difficult passage for translation or explanation.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [noun] > confusion > confused or obscure piece of writing or discourse
obscurity1495
synchysis1577
skimble-skamble1619
fuzz1674
nebulaa1734
skew1890
1890 Daily News 14 Aug. 4/8 To explain hard passages, or ‘skews’, as they are technically styled.
2. An entrance examination held at the end of a term. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > school examinations
entrance examination1819
entrance exam1857
standard1862
skew1866
leaving examination1868
Oxford1871
entry exam1886
Abitur1918
higher1923
scholarship1950
A level1951
C.S.E.1963
international baccalaureate1966
A1979
Certificate of Secondary Education1981
AS1984
STEP1985
SAT1988
A21999
1866 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 757 One examination paper..was popularly known as ‘Skew-paper’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† skewn.7
Scottish. Obsolete. rare.
(Meaning doubtful.) Perhaps a back-formation from reskew, but cf. skew v.2
ΚΠ
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 835 Hardy and hat contenyt the fell melle, Skew and reskew off Scottis and Inglis als.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
† skewn.8
Obsolete. rare.
A coracle.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel of specific construction or shape > vessels of primitive construction > [noun] > boat made with hides > over wickerwork
caraba1387
currach?c1450
coracle1547
skew1587
kuphar1800
basket-boat1801
1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) i. iv. 5/2, in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I These Scots..vsed..to steale ouer into Britaine in leather skewes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
skewadj.adv.
/skjuː/, U.S. /skju/ A. adj.
1. † b. Distorted, perverted; macaronic. Obsolete.
a. Having an oblique direction or position; turned to one side, slanting, squint.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adjective]
embelifc1400
inclining?c1400
oblique?a1425
inclinate?1440
hieldingc1480
inclined?a1500
bias1551
overthwart1594
sidelong1598
squinty1598
skew1609
traverse1609
skewed1611
obliquous1614
squint1703
inclinated1751
slanting1768
slanted1770
slant1776
aslant1791
diagonal1796
rakish1830
slantindicular1832
slantwise1856
slaunchways1913
slanty1928
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxx. xi. 397 He had with his gray eyes a skew cast at all times, and looked sterne.
1639 J. Taylor Divers Crabtree Lect. 106 Thy skew legges are so distant one from another, that it is unpossible that thou shouldest ever gall thine Ankles.
1651 H. More Enthusiasmus Triumphatus (1712) 44 It is far easier for her to..fetch in some odd skue conceit from a remote obscure corner, than to think of what is nearer.
1684 T. Burnet Theory of Earth ii. 195 Its right and parallel situation..was chang'd into an oblique; in which skew posture it hath stood ever since.
1850 J. H. Parker Gloss. Terms Archit. (ed. 5) I. 429 The common coping of a wall which consists of a sloped or skew surface surmounted by a roll moulding.
1860 F. C. L. Wraxall Life in Sea v. 130 The skew mouth running vertically, make[s] their appearance something frightfully odious.
1881 E. B. Tylor Anthropol. 63 The Tatar and Japanese faces show the skew eyelids of the Mongolian race.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > register > [adjective] > corrupted
corruptc1386
barbarous1526
bauger1544
basea1549
skew1607
impure1613
corrupted1699
doggy1880
corruptible1887
1607 T. Tomkis Lingua iii. v I remember about the yeare 1602. many vsed this skew kind of language.
c. Statistics. Of a statistical distribution: not symmetrical about its mean. Cf. skewed adj.2 2.A distribution is said to be skew (or skewed) positively or to the right if its third moment about its mean is positive, so that its larger tail lies to the right; and conversely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [adjective] > relating to distribution > not normal
skew1895
non-normal1896
non-central1928
skewed1940
1895 Philos. Trans. 1894 (Royal Soc.) A. 185 107 I have succeeded in resolving this mortality-curve into components which are not..all of the normal type, but become, as we approach infinite mortality, of the skew form.
1905 Drapers' Co. Res. Mem. (Biometric Ser.) II. 22 The theory of skew variation will give regression curves..containing product terms in x and y.
1929 Jrnl. du Conseil Internat. pour l'Explor. de la Mer 4 219 The area of the curve has been reduced to about half its original dimensions, but it has not been rendered very skew.
1936 Bot. Rev. 2 229 The distributions of the less common grasses are markedly skew.
1968 Brit. Med. Bull. 24 210/2 The first is fairly symmetrical but discloses one outlying value; the second is notably skew to the right.
2. Mathematics (see quots.); skew field, a ring whose non-zero elements form a group with respect to multiplication; a set which satisfies the axioms for a field except that multiplication is not commutative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > in abstract algebra > ring
ideal1898
principal ideal1901
ring1915
subring1917
skew field1965
1848 A. Cayley Coll. Math. Papers I. 378 Passing to the general case where the lines and points in question are not identical, which I should propose to term the theory of ‘Skew Polars’.
1867 W. T. Brande & G. W. Cox Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art (new ed.) III. 467/1 Skew Surface, a ruled surface of which two successive generators do not in general intersect.
1873 A. Cayley Coll. Math. Papers IX. 65–6 Before going further it will be convenient to establish the definition of ‘skew anti-points’.
1873 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magn. (1881) I. 384 When they are not satisfied it is called a Skew system.
1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra iii. 75 In certain cases we encounter systems which satisfy all the required properties for a field with one exception, the commutative law of multiplication. Such systems are known as..skew fields.
1969 F. M. Hall Introd. Abstr. Algebra II. iv. 114 The only skew field of any importance is the set of quaternions.
B. adv.
Obliquely, askew. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adverb]
sidelonga1398
aslanta1400
aslopec1400
embelifc1400
a-sloutc1440
sleetc1440
slant1495
obliquely1503
shoringc1503
a-swash1530
biaswise1545
biasways1556
slantingly1570
sideways1572
slantwise1573
avelinges1577
bias?1578
askant1602
slopely1605
slantinga1625
oblique1667
bias-way1702
skew1706
slantly1719
inclinably1760
slantways1828
slantindicular1831
slantindicularly1834
skewly1896
slaunchways1933
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) To look skew, or a-skew, to squint or leer, to look shy, or with an evil Eye upon one.
1815 Zeluca I. 305 I hope you don't think, Ma'am, that I have looked skew at not being paid my last week.
Compounds
C1. In special collocations, denoting that the thing in question deviates from a straight line, or has some part not at right angles with the rest.
a.
skew arch n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > other types of arch
bowOE
craba1387
cove1511
triumphal arch (arc)a1566
straight arch1663
pointed arch1688
rough arch1693
jack-arch1700
oxi1700
raking arch1711
flat arch1715
scheme-arch1725
counter-arch1726
ox-eye arch1736
surbased dome1763
ogee1800
rising arch1809
sub-arch1811
deaf arch1815
four-centred arch1815
mixed arch1815
Tudor arch1815
camber1823
lancet arch1823
invert1827
platband1828
pier arch1835
ogive1841
scoinson arch1842
segment1845
skew arch1845
drop-arch1848
equilateral arch1848
lancet1848
rear arch1848
straining-arch1848
tierceron1851
shouldered arch1853
archlet1862
segment-arch1887
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain I. ii. 257 First observe a singular Moorish skew-arch.
1857 W. Whewell Hist. Inductive Sci. (ed. 3) II. 447 I speak of what are called Skew Arches, in which the courses of stone or brick of which the bridge is built run obliquely to the walls of the bridge.
skew bridge n.
ΚΠ
1827 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) IV. 546 I have found a good story of a skew bridge at Caen.
1872 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 245 The art of building oblique or skew bridges appears to have been known on the Continent as early as 1530.
skew girder n.
ΚΠ
1838 F. W. Simms Public Wks. Great Brit. 8 In the skew girders the proper wind must be preserved.
skew bevel n.
ΚΠ
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 668 They fulfil the office of bevil wheels, or rather of skew-bevil wheels.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 349/2 The teeth have then a peculiar form, and the wheels are called skew-bevels.
skew chisel n.
ΚΠ
1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 354/1 One skew, or corner chisel.
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §644. 296 The tools used in carving are the chisel, the gouge, the skew-chisel, the parting tool.
skew facet n.
ΚΠ
1751 D. Jeffries Treat. Diamonds (ed. 2) Gloss. In Brilliants, there are two sorts, skew or skill facets and star facets.
skew former n.
ΚΠ
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iv. 74 The Skew-Former..is seldom used by Joyners, but for cleansing accute angles.
skew iron n.
ΚΠ
1875 J. Lukin Carpentry & Joinery 27 The iron is sometimes set at right angles to the sole of the plane and sometimes at an acute angle, when it is called a skew iron.
skew-rebate n.
ΚΠ
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 485 The obliquity is then given to the iron, which is inserted at an angle, as in the skew-rebate and fillister.
skew-sight n.
ΚΠ
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 209 In skew-sight or lateral vision, the axis of the eye affected usually coincides with that of the sound eye.
skew-wheel n.
ΚΠ
1847 Engineer & Machinist's Assistant (1850) 74 That variety of toothed-geer known as skew-wheels.
b.
skew nail n. (cf. skew-nail at Compounds 2a.)
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nail > to be driven at inclination
skew nail1954
1954 W. E. Kelsey Carpentry, Joinery & Woodcutting Machinery xiv. 394 In practice, skew nails are driven in various places..to prevent any movement.
1958 Times 27 Mar. 5/2 In one case there was a double skew nail.
skew nailing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > fastening > [noun] > with nails
nailingc1390
clenchingc1440
clinging1607
clinchinga1714
spiking1775
clench1781
skew nailing1929
1929 T. Corkhill in R. Greenhalgh Joinery & Carpentry VI. 1561 Skew nailing, nails driven with an inclination to the surface to give greater security.
1958 Times 27 Mar. 5/2 Double skew nailing was an old traditional practice.
1973 P. Hutchinson Home Carpenter ii. 13 (caption) Skew nailing locks timber framing firmly in place.
skew gearing n. Gearing consisting of two cog-wheels having non-parallel, non-intersecting axes.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > cog or gear > with axles or teeth set at specific angle
crown wheel1646
mitre wheel1825
mitre1844
skew gearinga1877
helical gear1888
spiral gear1888
skew gear1908
helical1913
spiral bevel gear1915
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. III. 2194/2 Skew-gearing, cog-wheels with teeth placed obliquely, so as to slide into each other and avoid clashing.
1902 H. Sturmey in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) x. 191 Another plan..substitutes for the bevel gearing what is known as skew or screw gearing.
skew gear n. see skew gearing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > cog or gear > with axles or teeth set at specific angle
crown wheel1646
mitre wheel1825
mitre1844
skew gearinga1877
helical gear1888
spiral gear1888
skew gear1908
helical1913
spiral bevel gear1915
1908 J. Richardson Mod. Steam Engine ix. 159 Fig. 150 shows the usual bevel gear, and Fig. 151 the skew gear now used in preference.
1929 Times 2 Nov. 4/7 The oil pump, driven by skew gear from the camshaft, is in the sump.
1975 Ryder & Bennett Mechanics of Machines iv. 112 Skew or spiral gears (which are helical gears of differing helix angles forming a mating pair) are used to transmit motion between non-intersecting shafts.
C2.
a. skew-eyed adj. and adv.; skew-fisted adj.; skew-nail vb.; skew-wise adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > [adverb] > looking sideways
asquinta1250
sidelings?a1400
bagginglyc1400
askoyc1425
askilec1450
to look sideways1652
squintly1655
skew-eyed1658
with eye askant1753
skaunt1791
out of, with the tail of the eye1805
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > squinting or cross-eyed
wall-eyeda1400
thwartingc1430
gleed1482
pink-eyed1519
goggle1540
squint1579
squint-eyed1589
squinted1591
squinting1611
moon-eyed1623
squink-eyed1632
asquint1643
skew-eyed1658
cockeyed1751
yaw-sighted1751
swivel-eyed1758
cross-eyed1791
slew-eyed1807
skellied1821
squinny-eyeda1825
strabismic1855
boss-eyed1860
strabismical1866
hyperphoric1887
strabismal1891
heterophoric1894
squinty1922
squinty1925
1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 1074 They are not one-ey'd, nor horrid skew-ey'd.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Skew-fisted, awkward, ungainly.
1875 W. Morris tr. Virgil Æneids v. 445 He..his body swift writhed skew-wise from the fall.
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §743. 340 The edge of the shelf may be skew-nailed to the support behind.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses i. iii. [Proteus] 39 And skeweyed Walter sirring his father.
1976 I. Levin Boys from Brazil ii. 57 He..smiled skew-eyed at him.
b. Mathematics, (of a matrix or other square array of elements) having all the elements of the principal diagonal equal to zero, and each of the remaining elements equal to the negative of the element in the corresponding position on the other side of the diagonal; more generally, applied to an array of any dimension in which every element having a repeated subscript is zero and every other element is equal to the negative of elements having an odd permutation of the same subscripts.
skew-symmetric adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of array > relating to matrices > qualities
adjoint1856
transposed1858
adjugate1867
orthogonal1891
alternant1892
positive definite1904
skew-symmetric1911
skew-symmetrical1911
unipotent1921
Hermitian1927
non-Hermitian1930
1849 A. Cayley in Jrnl. f. die reine u. angewandte Math. XXXVIII. 93 On a λr.s = −λs.r (r ≠ 0); λr.r = 0. Ces déterminants peuvent être nommés ‘gauches et symmétriques’.]
1911 T. Muir Hist. Determinants II. ix. 255 Any skew determinant is expressible in terms of skew symmetric determinants and those of the original determinant which are not included in the latter.
1955 W. Pauli in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 45 The vectors and skew-symmetric tensors transform just like the analogous electromagnetic quantities.
1967 K. W. Gruenberg & A. J. Weir Linear Geom. v. 91 A bilinear form is orthosymmetric if, and only if, it is either symmetric or skew-symmetric.
1980 A. J. Jones Game Theory i. 44 Thus a matrix game is symmetric if its matrix is skew-symmetric.
skew-symmetrical adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of array > relating to matrices > qualities
adjoint1856
transposed1858
adjugate1867
orthogonal1891
alternant1892
positive definite1904
skew-symmetric1911
skew-symmetrical1911
unipotent1921
Hermitian1927
non-Hermitian1930
1911 T. Muir Hist. Determinants II. 269 The identity..is the twin theorem to one given in his previous paper regarding a bordered skew symmetrical determinant of even order.
skew-symmetry n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > array > matrix > element or quality of
column1846
skew-symmetry1927
entry1928
off-diagonal1932
similarity class1952
1927 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 116 249 In any example the quickest way of showing the skew-symmetry is to write T symbolically as a determinant.
1980 A. J. Jones Game Theory i. 46 Skew-symmetry of the matrix is preserved by this operation.
Draft additions March 2017
skew-ways adv. and adj. colloquial and regional (now chiefly Irish English). (a) adv. at an angle; slantingly, askew; askance, obliquely (cf. skew-wise at Compounds 2a); (b) adj. crooked, slanting; sideways, oblique.
ΚΠ
1840 Fraser's Mag. Sept. 280/1 By my sowl, counsellor, I don't think you'd look skew-ways (askew) at it yourself.
1876 Staffs. Sentinel 23 Sept. Colonel Rich believes the accident was caused by the signalman having placed the signal-lamp skew-ways on the edge of the socket.
1908 D. Conyers Three Girls & Hermit xii. 219 Isn't Clara misfortunate, Captain, the way she sits skew ways on a horse?
1920 C. M. A. Peake Eli of Downs xxxvii. 351 A gaunt white cross..with a skew-ways wreath of marble passion flowers.
1989 B. Roche Handful of Stars in Wexford Trilogy (1992) 43 Eight hefty chaps all sleepin' in the one room. Upside down and sideways and skewways and I don't know what the hell way we slept at all.
2001 Irish Times 2 May (The Ticket section) 3/1 It's taking a skew-ways look at the inanity of media analysis.
2014 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 11 Jan. (You section) 5 I have to operate and insert metal pins and plates. Tomorrow morning..before the bones start to heal skew-ways by themselves.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† skewv.1
Obsolete. rare.
intransitive. To become overcast.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > darkness or gloom > be dark or gloomy [verb (intransitive)] > become dark, dim, or obscure
skewc1400
overcastc1475
thickena1616
darken1722
c1400 Siege Jerusalem (1932) 53 Þe welcon wanned anon & þe water skeweþ, Cloudes clateren gon, as þey cleue wolde.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
skewv.2
/skjuː/, U.S. /skju/ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > go away quietly or stealthily
steal1154
to steal one's wayc1385
skew?a1400
astealc1400
fleetc1400
slip?c1450
shrink1530
flinch1563
shift1594
foist1603
shab1699
slope1851
smuggle1865
sneak1896
mope1914
to oil out1945
?a1400 Morte Arth. 1562 Skilfulle skomfyture he skiftez as hym lykez, Is none so skathlye may skape, ne skewe fro his handez.
2.
a. To take an oblique course or direction; to turn aside, move sideways.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > move sideways [verb (intransitive)] > move obliquely
glentc1330
lean1398
slenta1400
glintc1440
skew1488
sklent1513
slanta1849
sashay1865
cater1873
diagonalize1884
shail1895
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 272 Crawfurd drew saill, skewyt by and off thaim past.
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Cij He, that..chearelye willes the to be bould Not once to skew a syde.
1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione Author's Apol. And should they see us on our knees for blessing, They'd scue aside, as frighted at our dressing.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Skue or walk skuing, to waddle, to go sideling along.
1811 R. Willan in Archaeologia 17 158 Skew, to go aside, or obliquely.
1813 D. Anderson Poems, Eng. & Scotch 111 Contemplating ilk foppish brat,..To see them skew and skip about.
1845 S. Judd Margaret i. xvii. 174 They skewed, brustled, and bumped along.
b. To shy (as a horse), to swerve. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > shrink or recoil
wondec897
blencha1250
shunta1250
scurnc1325
blenka1330
blinka1400
startc1400
shrink1508
blanch1572
swerve1573
shruga1577
flinch1578
recoil1582
budgea1616
shucka1620
smay1632
blunk1655
shudder1668
resile1678
skew1678
reluctate1833
1678 V. Alsop Melius Inquirendum ii. viii. 318 When the Magistrate is settling the Civil peace of his Dominions, he needs not concern himself, whether the people will skew, or no.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Skew, to start aside, as a horse, at some object which scares him.
3. To squint at, to look at (or upon) sideways, esp. in a suspicious or slighting manner; hence, to make side-hits at, reflect upon, something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > look sideways
schule?c1225
to look asidec1230
bagge1369
gogglec1380
to look awryc1400
slizec1400
leer1530
to look askew1538
skew1570
gloat1576
to glance one's eye, look1590
squean1608
squinny1608
squint1610
sken1611
sleer1680
glime1684
skime1691
side-glance1799
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > lack of confidence, distrust, suspicion > be mistrustful, suspect [verb (intransitive)] > look sideways
skew1570
to look sideways1652
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Hii/2 To Skewe, linis oculis spectare.
a1625 J. Fletcher Loyal Subj. ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ddd4/1 Our service Neglected, and look'd lamely on, and skewd at.
1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. viii. 158 We finde our selves ready..to skew at the infirmities of others.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables 460 'Tis dangerous skewing upon the errors of the age a man lives in.
1827 J. Clare Shepherd's Cal. 173 The cows stood round her in a wondering way,..Skewing at her.
1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales III. 74 Now looking to the left, now to the right,..now skewing at an object, now leering at an individual.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > look sideways at > turn (eyes) sideways
blenchc1400
skew1577
goggle1582
askance1594
squinta1616
squinnya1825
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande ii. f. 7/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Pleaseth you to skew your eye towardes the margent.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 42 Nor backward skewd I myn eyesight..tyl that my burden I lighted.
5. To cut off, set back, insert, etc., in an oblique manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline [verb (transitive)] > make oblique
skew1611
slant1770
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Embraser, to skue, or chamfret off the Iaumbes of a doore, or window.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 11 The springing of the Arch is skew'd back from the upright of the Jambs.
1777 W. Gostling Walk Canterbury (ed. 2) 181 The way was skewed off with an angle.
1886 F. Caddy Footsteps Jeanne D'Arc 109 The lower room has a narrow window..skewed into the thickness of the wall.
6. To depict or represent unfairly. Also, to distort, bias.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > misrepresentation > misrepresent [verb (transitive)]
disguise1398
colourc1400
abuse?a1439
wrest1524
beliec1531
to spell (one) backward1600
misuse1609
bowa1616
falsify1630
misrepresent1633
traduce1643
garble1659
miscolour1661
misrender1674
travesty1825
misdescribe1827
skew1872
misportray1925
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > mental attitude, point of view > view in particular way [verb (transitive)] > present in particular way
skew1872
slant1939
angle1944
spin1988
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > an individual case or instance > find or furnish an instance or example of [verb (transitive)] > make sample or data unrepresentative
skew1981
1872 C. King Mountaineering in Sierra Nevada x What has he done but twist and skew and distort and discolor..this whole doggonned country?
1975 Amer. Speech 1972 47 284 If he sings the song, he pronounces the name and possibly skews the results.
1979 Sci. Amer. Feb. 105/2 Whatever was skewing the eye-color ratio had its effect only in the course of sperm formation, not in egg formation.
1981 Amer. Speech 56 45 If we count those informants using both big daddy and big mamma only once, to avoid falsely skewing the data, fully 39 percent of the 38 different informants..are black.
7. dialect. To throw, hurl, cast, fling.
ΚΠ
1824– in dialect glossaries, etc. (Northumbld., Yks.).
8. Statistics. To make skew (skew adj. 1c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > collect or employ statistics [verb (transitive)] > alter or modify
smooth1889
weight1901
partial1928
skew1929
studentize1934
1929 Jrnl. du Conseil Internat. pour l'Explor. de la Mer 4 219 The frequency curve has been reduced to a very small proportion of the original, the mode has been shifted 1¾ cms., and the group has been distinctly ‘skewed’.
1931 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. 22 85 The raising of the level of difficulty of test A will tend to skew the score-scatter positively.
Derivatives
ˈskewing n.1 (a) the action of the verb; (b) bias, distortion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [noun]
hieldinga1340
angling1570
inclination1590
skewing1611
clinamen1704
inclension1751
slant1817
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Biseau, a bezle, bezeling, or scuing; such a slopenesse, or slope forme, as is in the point of an yron leauer, chizle, &c.
1969 Language 45 487 In reality the transfer at the kernel level can generally be made with far less danger of skewing than if one follows the highly involved processes.
1975 Nature 13 Mar. 139/2 The degree of skewing would depend on factors such as the length of time between the act of volunteering and actual participation in the experiment.
ˈskewing adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > [adjective]
critical1565
critic1596
animadverting1606
skewing1702
the world > animals > by habits or actions > [adjective] > shying
skewing1821
1702 R. L'Estrange tr. Josephus Life in Wks. 995 He prepar'd the People for his Purpose, by a Skewing Discourse upon the Matter then in Question.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel II. 8 Jane's 'skewing cow was struck with fear.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
skewv.3
technical.
(See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > art of colouring > colour [verb (transitive)] > lay on a colour > in heraldic painting > brush away loose silver or gold
skew1688
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 149/1 Skew, a term in Herald-Painting, which is with a Wing or Hares Foot [to] brush away all the loose edges of Silver and Gold that remains of the working of them.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2194/2.
Derivatives
ˈskewing n.2
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > art of colouring > [noun] > laying on of colour > in heraldic painting > brushing off extra gold or silver
skewing1852
1852 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) I. 758/1 A brush, with which every part is carefully gone over, superfluous gold being removed from some parts, and worked into others..The process is called skewing, and the particles of gold collected from it, are sold under the name of skewings.
1870 Eng. Mech. Jan. 487/1 Go over the frame with a skewing brush to remove all loose particles of gold.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
skewv.4
In passive with up: To have the vision obstructed by mist.
ΚΠ
1842 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) I. v. 149 Walking I know not where—all mist before my vision, ‘skewed up’, nothing certain.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
skewv.5
1. to be skewed: to fail in repetition.
ΚΠ
1905 H. A. Vachell Hill iii It doesn't pay to be ‘skewed’.
2. To fail in doing (a repetition).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > fail an examination
skew1859
fail1906
pip1908
fluff1955
1859 F. W. Farrar Eric 53 He would laugh when any one told him how he had escaped ‘skewing’ (i.e. being turned) by reading it off.
1899 ‘Martello Tower’ At School & at Sea 36 Skew..signified failure in a lesson, as: ‘I skewed my rep (repetition) this morning’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
<
n.1a1300
n.21278
n.31622
n.41567n.51839n.61866n.71488n.81587adj.adv.1607v.1c1400
v.2?a1400v.31688v.41842v.51859