skew

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /skju/ UK /skjuː/ See IPA manual

Freq #58361

Meanings

1

verb
To distort or bias something so it gives a false or one-sided result.

Having too many young people in the survey skewed the results.
2

verb
To set or turn something at a slanting angle.

The heavy wind had skewed the fence posts to one side.
3

adj
Slanting or set at an angle rather than straight.

The picture on the wall hung slightly skew.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 adj · slanting or set at an angle... skewed

Word family

Forms skewedskewingskews

Derived forms deskewnonskewedskew-geeskew-hermitianskew-symmetricskew-symmetryskew-whiffskew-whiftskew-wiffskew-wiftskewableskewb

Etymology

From Middle English skeu, skew (“stone with a sloping surface forming the slope of a gable, offset of a buttress, etc.”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman eschu, escuwe, eskeu, or Old Northern French eschieu, eskieu, eskiu, from Old French escu, escut, eschif (“a shield”) (modern French écu), from Latin scūtum (“a shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skewH- (“to cover, protect”) or *skey- (“to cut, split”).

*(s)kewH- Proto-Indo-European skeu Middle English eschu xno eschieu fro-nor escu Old French scūtum Latin *skewH- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# skew

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb, adj
**IPA (US):** /skju/
**IPA (UK):** /skjuː/
**Frequency rank:** 58361

## Meanings
1. To distort or bias something so it gives a false or one-sided result.
2. To set or turn something at a slanting angle.
3. Slanting or set at an angle rather than straight.

## Examples
- Having too many young people in the survey skewed the results.
- The heavy wind had skewed the fence posts to one side.
- The picture on the wall hung slightly skew.

## Derived Forms
- deskew
- nonskewed
- skew-gee
- skew-hermitian
- skew-symmetric
- skew-symmetry
- skew-whiff
- skew-whift
- skew-wiff
- skew-wift
- skewable
- skewb

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)kewH-
- Root: skeu
- Root: eschu
- Root: eschieu
- Root: escu
- Root: scūtum
- Root: *skewH-

## Etymology
From Middle English skeu, skew (“stone with a sloping surface forming the slope of a gable, offset of a buttress, etc.”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman eschu, escuwe, eskeu, or Old Northern French eschieu, eskieu, eskiu, from Old French escu, escut, eschif (“a shield”) (modern French écu), from Latin scūtum (“a shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skewH- (“to cover, protect”) or *skey- (“to cut, split”).

## AI Etymology
Skew is from Middle English skeu, skew (“stone with a sloping surface forming the slope of a gable, offset of a buttress, etc.”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman eschu, escuwe, eskeu, or Old Northern French eschieu, eskieu, eskiu, from Old French escu, escut, eschif (“a shield”) (modern French écu), from Latin scūtum (“a shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skewH- (“to cover, protect”) or *skey- (“to cut, split”). Important recorded forms include *(s)kewH- (Proto-Indo-European), skeu (Middle English), eschu (xno), eschieu (fro-nor), escu (Old French), and scūtum (Latin). Current senses include to distort or bias something so it gives a false or one-sided result, to set or turn something at a slanting angle, and slanting or set at an angle rather than straight. The wider family includes derived forms such as deskew, nonskewed, skew-gee, skew-hermitian, and skew-symmetric.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown