skirt

[[t]skɜrt[/t]]

n.

1) clo the part of a gown, dress, or coat that extends downward from the waist

2) clo a one-piece garment extending downward from the waist and not joined between the legs, worn esp. by women and girls

3) some part resembling or suggesting the skirt of a garment, as the flared lip of a bell

4) a small leather flap on each side of a saddle, covering the metal bar from which the stirrup hangs

5) fur

Also called apron a flat, horizontal wooden piece, often ornamental, set immediately beneath a tabletop, chair seat, base of a chest of drawers, etc., and extending between the legs.

6) fur a cloth flounce or valance fitting around the sides of a bed, couch, or chair, as to conceal the legs

7) Usu., skirts. the bordering, marginal, or outlying part of a place, group, etc.; outskirts

8) off sts sex older sl.: usu. off. a woman or girl

9) to lie on or along the border of:

The hills skirt the town[/ex]

10) to pass along or around the border or edge of:

Traffic skirts the monument[/ex]

11) to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something controversial, risky, etc.)

12) cvb to wrap or cover with or as if with a skirt

13) to be or lie on or along the edge of something

14) to move along or around the border of something

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Etymology: 1250–1300; ME skirte < ON skyrta shirt skirt′less, adj. skirt′like`, adj. usage: Definition8, though rarely used today, is usually perceived as insulting.