Main Entry:

¹skunk

Pronunciation:

\ˈskəŋk\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural skunks also skunk

Etymology:

earlier squuncke, from a Massachusett reflex of Algonquian *šeka·kwa, from šek- urinate + -a·kw fox, fox-like animal

Date:

1634

1 a: any of various common omnivorous black-and-white New World mammals (especially genus Mephitis) of the weasel family that have a pair of perineal glands from which a secretion of pungent and offensive odor is ejected b: the fur of a skunk2: an obnoxious or disliked person

[skunk illustration]