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skate 1 (skāt)
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n.
1. An ice skate, roller skate, or inline skate.
2. Informal A skateboard.
3. The act or a period of skating or skateboarding: went for a skate.
intr.v. skat·ed, skat·ing, skates
1. To glide or move along on skates.
2. To move or progress in a smooth, easy, or unconcerned manner: "resting on his past laurels, skating along on his reputation" (Tami Hoag).
3. To ride or perform tricks on a skateboard.

[From Dutch schaats, stilt, skate (taken as pl.), from Middle Dutch schaetse, from Old North French escache, stilt, perhaps of Germanic origin.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
skate 2 (skāt)
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n.
Any of various cartilaginous fishes chiefly of the family Rajidae, having a flattened body with greatly expanded pectoral fins that extend around the head, and laying eggs enclosed in hard cases.

[Middle English scate, from Old Norse skata.]
(click for a larger image)
skate2
clearnose skate
Raja eglanteria

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
skate 3 (skāt)
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n.
Slang
1. A fellow; a person.
2. A decrepit horse; a nag.

[Perhaps alteration of dialectal skite, contemptible person; see BLATHERSKITE.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.