Main Entry: ¹skin

Pronunciation: \ˈskin\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse skinn; akin to Old English scinn skin, Middle High German schint fruit peel

Date: 13th century

1 a (1) : the integument of an animal (as a fur-bearing mammal or a bird) separated from the body usually with its hair or feathers (2) : a usually unmounted specimen of a vertebrate (as in a museum) b : the hide or pelt of a game or domestic animal c (1) : the pelt of an animal prepared for use as a trimming or in a garment — compare ⁴hide (2) : a sheet of parchment or vellum made from a hide (3) : bottle 1b
2 a : the external limiting tissue layer of an animal body; especially : the 2-layered covering of a vertebrate body consisting of an outer epidermis and an inner dermis b : an outer covering (as a rind or husk) of a fruit or seed c : a membranous film or scum (as on boiling milk or drying paint)
3 : the life or physical well-being of a person <saved his own skin>
4 : a sheathing or casing forming the outside surface of a structure (as a ship or airplane)

— skin·less \-ləs\ adjective

— by the skin of one's teeth : by a very narrow margin

— under one's skin : so deeply penetrative as to irritate, stimulate, provoke thought, or otherwise excite

— under the skin : beneath apparent or surface differences : at heart