Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

skelly

/ˈskɛli/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.33 in modern English

Syllables
skel-ly
IPA
/ˈskɛli/
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A squint.

Archaic

verb

To squint.

verb

To look at

noun

A skeleton, especially a human one.

Slang

noun

Alternative form of skully (“street game of flicking caps”).

Uncountable

name

A surname from Irish.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *skjelga ("to squint"; found only in the reflexive skjelgask (“to come askew; squint the eyes”)), from Proto-Germanic *skilgijaną (“to squint”), from Proto-Germanic *skelhaz, *skelhwaz, *skelgaz (“slanted; sloping; squinting”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel- (“to bend; crook”). Compare Danish skele (“to squint”), Swedish skela (“to squint”), Scots skellie, scalie, skellice (“to squint; look to the side”), German schielen (“to squint”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

skellies (plural) skellies (present, singular) skellying (participle, present) skellied (participle, past) skellied (past) Skellys (plural)

Derived Forms

Skellytown

Rhymes With

kelly delhi belly jelly ellie shelley kelley deli shelly smelly telly nelly

Questions

How do you pronounce skelly?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskɛli/.
What does skelly mean?
A squint.
Where does skelly come from?
It is traced to Proto-Germanic.

How to pronounce skelly

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “skelly”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskɛli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “skelly”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “skelly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.