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 skunk
2 : an obnoxious or disliked person

[skunk illustration]