Skath, skaith, scaith, sb. harm, misery. O. N. skaði, harm, damage, Norse skade, id., Dan. skade, O. E. sceaða.
Skant, sb. want, poverty. Burns, 290, I, 3. O. N. skammt. See Skeat. Cp. skerum skamti, in short measure.
Skantlin, sb. little. Burns, 5, 5, 7. As adv. generally skantlins, scantlings, scarcely. O. N. skamt.
Skantly, adv. with difficulty, hardly. C.S., 69. See skant.
Skar, sb. a scarecrow, a fright. Lyndsay, 437, 1633. From vb. skar, to frighten, Eng. scare, M. E. skerren. O. N. skirra. See Skeat.
Skeigh, adj. originally meant timid, then very frequently, dainty, nice, finally, proud. Dunbar, T.M.W., 357. Burns, 193, 46, I. Norse sky, Dan. sky, adj. and also vb. sky, to avoid. B-S. compares Sw. skygg also, which is the same word, but the vowel is long. The Sco. word, furthermore, seems to suggest an older diphthong. It could, however, not be O. E. sceah, which gave M. E. scheah and should have become schee in N. Sco. Doubtful.
Sker, adj. timid, easily frightened. Dunbar, T.M.W., 357; Lyndsay, 227, 126. O. N. skjarr, shy, timid, Sw. dial. skar, M. E. scer, Cu. scar, wild.
Skewyt, vb. pret. turned obliquely. Wallace, IX, 148. O. N. skæifr, O. Ic. skeifr, oblique, Norse skæiv, skjaiv, crooked, Dan. skjæv. The Dan word exhibits monophthongation of æi to æ (not to e, i, as in sten).
Skill, sb. motive, reason. Gol. and Gaw., 147; Bruce, I, 214, 7. See Skeat, and Kluge and Lutz. In Dunbar, 307, 63, "did nane skill," did not do a wise thing.
Skog, scoug, sb. place of retreat, shelter, protection. Dalr., I, 30, 29; Isaiah, XXXII, 2. O. N. skuggi, shade, Norse skugge, O. Sw. skuggi.