Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

skiff

/skɪf/ noun

In Latin: linter, scapha Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about skiff at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Any of various small boats propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor.

Origin

From Middle English skif, from Middle French esquif, from Old Italian schifo (“small boat”), from Lombardic skif (“boat”), from Proto-Germanic *skipą (“boat, ship”). Doublet of ship.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word