skill

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the ability to do something well, usually gained through learning or practice

   Where did you pick up that skill?

2. 2
   noun

   a particular ability or technique used to solve a problem or do a task

   Good communication is an important skill in any job.

Common collocations

• master a skill Verb + noun

From Middle English skilen (also schillen), partly from Old English scilian (“to separate, part, divide off”); and partly from Old Norse skilja (“to divide, separate”); both from Proto-Germanic *skilōną, *skiljaną (“to divide, limit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, cut”). Cognate with Danish skille (“to separate, discard”), Swedish skilja (“to distinguish, differentiate, part”), Icelandic skilja (“to understand”), Low German schelen (“to make a difference; to be squint-eyed”), Dutch schelen (“to make a difference”).

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