Other forms: skunks
A skunk is a black-and-white animal that sprays a terrible smell when scared. A skunk sprayed the dog, skunk smell, a family of skunks.
The spray is sulphur compounds and it carries for a kilometre; the animal warns first by stamping and raising its tail, and would rather not use it because the supply takes days to replace. The name comes from an Algonquian word meaning one who squirts.
1nounskunkA black-and-white animal that sprays a foul smell.
“The dog came home smelling terrible after a skunk sprayed it.”
skunk is an animal.
From an Algonquian word meaning one who squirts, related to Abenaki segongw.
Proto-Algonquian
*šeka·kwa
English, today
skunk
Built from
Borrowed from Eastern Algonquian -, from Proto-Algonquian šeka·kwa. from an unattested Southern New England Eastern Algonquian word cognate with Abenaki segôgw literally “he who squirts (musk) / urinates”, from Proto-Algonquian šeka·kwa, from šek- (“to urinate”). a doublet of Chicago.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA