skull definition | Dictionary.com

skull

[skuhl]

–noun

1.	the bony framework of the head, enclosing the brain and supporting the face; the skeleton of the head.

2.	the head as the center of knowledge and understanding; mind: to get literature's great ideas through our skulls.

3.	Armor. the part of a helmet that covers the top of the head.

—Idiom

4.	out of one's skull, Slang. crazy; demented.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME scolle < ON skalli

Related forms:

skull-less, adjective

skull-like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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skull (skŭl)

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n.

The bony or cartilaginous framework of the head of vertebrates, made up of the bones of the braincase and face; cranium.
Informal The head, regarded as the seat of thought or intelligence: Use your skull and solve the problem.
A death's-head.

[Middle English skulle, probably of Scandinavian origin.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Skull

Skull\, n. [See School a multitude.] A school, company, or shoal. [Obs.]

A knavish skull of boys and girls did pelt at him. --Warner.

These fishes enter in great flotes and skulls. --Holland.

Skull

Skull\, n. [OE. skulle, sculle, scolle; akin to Scot. skull, skoll, a bowl, Sw. skalle skull, skal a shell, and E. scale; cf. G. hirnschale, Dan. hierneskal. Cf. Scale of a balance.]

1. (Anat.) The skeleton of the head of a vertebrate animal, including the brain case, or cranium, and the bones and cartilages of the face and mouth. See Illusts. of Carnivora, of Facial angles under Facial, and of Skeleton, in Appendix.

Note: In many fishes the skull is almost wholly cartilaginous but in the higher vertebrates it is more or less completely ossified, several bones are developed in the face, and the cranium is made up, wholly or partially, of bony plates arranged in three segments, the frontal, parietal, and occipital, and usually closely united in the adult.

2. The head or brain; the seat of intelligence; mind.

Skulls that can not teach, and will not learn. --Cowper.

3. A covering for the head; a skullcap. [Obs. & R.]

Let me put on my skull first. --Beau. & Fl.

4. A sort of oar. See Scull.

Skull and crossbones, a symbol of death. See Crossbones.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : skull

Spanish: calavera,

German: der Schädel,

Japanese: 頭がい骨

More Translations »

skull

c.1225, probably from O.N. skalli "bald head, skull," a general Scand. word (cf. Swed. skulle, Norw. skult), probably related to O.E. scealu "husk" (see shell). But early prominence in southwestern texts suggests rather origin from a Du. or Low Ger. cognate (e.g. Du. schol "turf, piece of ice," but the sense of "head bone framework" is wanting). Derivation from O.Fr. escuelle seems unlikely on grounds of sound and sense. O.E. words for skull include heafod-bolla.

Main Entry: skull
Pronunciation: 'sk&l
Function: noun
: the skeleton of the head forming a bony case that encloses and protects the brain and chief senseorgans and supports the jaws

skull (skŭl)
n.
The bony or cartilaginous framework of the head, made up of the bones of the braincase and face; cranium.

skull (skŭl) Pronunciation Key
The part of the skeleton that forms the framework of the head, consisting of the bones of the cranium, which protect the brain, and the bones of the face. See more at skeleton.

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