A Skip Is a Container in Britain and a Dance Step Everywhere
To skip is to move with light hops. In Britain a skip is also a large waste container.
To skip is to move along with light hopping steps, or to omit something. In British English a *skip* is also the large open container delivered for building waste, and that is a different word: it comes from *skep*, an old term for a basket, from Old Norse *skeppa*, a measure of grain. A beehive of woven straw is also a skep. A third *skip* is the captain of a curling or bowls team, shortened from *skipper*, which comes from Dutch *schipper*, a ship's master.
- To hop lightly. *Skipping along.*
- To omit. *Skipping a chapter.*
- A waste container (British). *A builder's skip.*
- A team captain. *The skip.*
- Old Norse — *skeppa*, a basket. *The container.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | skip | Skipping. |
| Noun | skip | A skip. |
| Past | skipped | Skipped. |
| Related | skep | A skep. |
| Related | skipper | A skipper. |
- The children skipped home.Movement.
- Skip the introduction.Omission.
- They hired a skip.British.
Three separate skips
- To hop or omit — Middle English, of Scandinavian origin
- A container — from skep, a basket, Old Norse *skeppa*
- A team captain — short for skipper, from Dutch *schipper*
- A skep is also a traditional straw beehive
- Only the first two are related at all
The verb is Middle English, of Scandinavian origin. The container is from *skep*, Old Norse *skeppa*, a basket.
Why is a waste container called a skip?
From skep, an old word for a basket, which also names a traditional straw beehive.
Why is a curling captain called the skip?
It is short for skipper, from Dutch schipper, a ship's master.