skull
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skull¹
- /ˈskʌl/
- /skʊl/ Northern England
Sounds like scull · Rhymes with -ʌl
Where it comes from
From Middle English sculle, scolle (also schulle, scholle), probably from a dialectal form of Old Norse skalli (“bald head, skull”), itself probably related to Old English sċealu (“husk”), to Proto-Norse *ᛋᚲᚨᛚᛟ (*skalo), from Proto-Germanic *skallô; compare Finnish kallo. Compare Scots scull, Danish skal (“skull”) and skalle (“bald head, skull”), Norwegian skalle, Swedish skalle and especially dialectal Swedish skulle.
Related to Old Norse skoltr (“brow”), skolptr (“muzzle, snout”), akin to Icelandic skoltur (“jaw”), dialectal Swedish skult, skulle (“dome, crown of the head, skull”), Norwegian Nynorsk skult, skolt (“cranium, head (of a hammer); crag; hub”), Middle Dutch scolle, scholle, Middle Low German scholle, schulle (“clod, sod”), and Scots skult, skolt. Compare also Old High German sciula, skiula (“skull”). Possibly related to Latin celsus (“lofty, high, tall”), collis (“hill”).
Also related to Old Norse skǫllóttr, Icelandic sköllóttur, Old Swedish skallotter, Swedish skallig, Danish skaldet, Norwegian skallet (“bald”).
noun skulls · scull
- The main bones of the head considered as a unit; including the cranium, facial bones, and mandible. All the time six or eight large Chinese gongs were being beaten by the vigorous arms of as many young men, producing such a deafening discord that I was glad to escape to the round house, where I slept very comfortably with half a dozen smoke-dried human skulls suspended over my head.
- These bones as a symbol for death; death's-head. Thine are these orbs of light and shade; Thou madest Life in man and brute; Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot Is on the skull which thou hast made.
- The mind or brain. My thoughts are flying around in my skull like fireflies in a jar, but all of a sudden I'm unbearably tired and can't stay awake.
- A crust formed on the ladle, etc. by the partial cooling of molten metal.
- The crown of the headpiece in armour.
- A shallow bow-handled basket.
- The head or master of a college. Graduates […] will never forget that majestic stature, that massive brow, that commanding look, as its possessor paced the ante-chapel of his college, or took his seat of presidence among the skulls of Golgotha.
Similar: brainpan, harnpan, brain bucket, brainbox, cranium, skull
verb skulls · skulling · skulled · scull
- To hit in the head with a fist, a weapon, or a thrown object.
- To strike the top of (the ball). Monte swung so hard at the next ball that he skulled it straight right, into the pond: 8 in, 9 out.
- To drink everything that remains in a glass by upending it. She nearly skulled the next drink and, despite feeling a little woozy, she felt a lot better.
skull²
Where it comes from
See school (“a multitude”).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: cranium, brain, skeleton, face, headache, forehead, scalp, head, crane, crossbones, chrome, donkey, dome, vault, mind, sake
noun
Similar: brain bucket, brainbox, cranium, skull
Translations
Every language
noun bones of the head: cranium and mandible
| Español | cráneo, calavera, calaca |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 두개골 dugaegol |
| 日本語 | 頭蓋骨 zugaikotsu, 頭骨 tōkotsu |
| 中文 | 頭骨 /头骨 tóugǔ, 頭蓋骨 /头盖骨 tóugàigǔ, 顱骨 /颅骨 lúgǔ, 腦殼 /脑壳 nǎoké |
| हिन्दी | कपाल kapāl |
| Kiswahili | fuvu la kichwa |
| Português | crânio, caveira |
| Français | crâne |
| Deutsch | Schädel, Kranium |
| Italiano | cranio, teschio |
| Ελληνικά | κρανίο kranío |
| Română | craniu, țeastă, căpățână |
| Русский | че́реп čérep |
| Tiếng Việt | sọ, đầu lâu |
| العربية | جُمْجُمَة jumjuma |
| עברית | גולגולת \ גֻּלְגֹּלֶת gulgólet |
noun death's-head, skull
| Español | calavera |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 髑髏 sarekōbe |
| 中文 | 骷髏 /骷髅 kūlóu, 骷髏頭 /骷髅头, 髑髏 /髑髅 dúlóu |
| Português | caveira |
| Deutsch | Totenkopf |
| Italiano | teschio |
| Ελληνικά | νεκροκεφαλή nekrokefalí |
| Русский | че́реп čérep |
noun (figuratively) mind or brain
| Português | cabeça |
|---|
Talk about this word "skull." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/skull. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. skull. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/skull "skull." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/skull.Cite this
@misc{skull_2026,
title = {skull},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/skull},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
