▪ I. skiff, n.1
(skɪf)
Forms: α. 6–7 skiph, skiffe, 6 skyfe, skyffe, 6– skiff. β. sciffe, 7 sciph. γ. 7 schiff(e, schiph.
[ad. F. esquif (1549), Sp. and Pg. esquife, or It. schifo: the source of the Romanic word is prob. OHG. scif ship, boat.]
1. A small sea-going boat, adapted for rowing and sailing; esp. one attached to a ship and used for purposes of communication, transport, towing, etc. Hence, a small light boat of any kind.
| α 1575 Laneham Lett. (1871) 13 The hoounds harroing after [deer], az they had bin a number of skiphs too the spoyle of a karuell. 1578 T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 8 The Currant..was so fierce, that he could not get in with his Skiffe, because he had no helpe to row. 1587 Greene Euphues Wks. (Grosart) VI. 243 Hee sent secretly one of his sonnes in a little skyfe to Pisandros. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. vi. 26 Great ships haue also other small boats called Shallops and Skiffes, which are with more ease..rowed to an[d] againe. 1652 Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 228 Those scouting Skiphs which were joined with the bigger sort of Pinnaces or light Vessels. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 328 Their Long-Boat, and a great Shallop, besides a small Skiff. 1791 W. Gilpin Forest Scenery II. 96 The port of Lymington..is chiefly frequented by light skiffs, rigged in the cutter-form, with a jib and boom. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xx. 61 We took a little skiff that lay on the beach, and paddled off. 1875 W. M{supc}Ilwraith Guide Wigtownshire 95 In later times Lochryan was frequented by the skiffs of the Gaelic tribes. |
| transf. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Epid. 66 If in two skiphs of cork, a Loadstone and steele be placed. |
| attrib. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. vii. iii, The skiff-boat neared: I heard them talk. |
| β 1589 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 259 Themistocles sent Sicinnus his childrens schoolemaster secretly in a Sciffe towards the Persians. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Skiff or Sciph, a Ship-boat, properly all of one peece. |
| γ 1594 R. Ashley tr. Loys le Roy 46 To see him hidden in a little Schiffe, whom but a little before the whole Sea could not suffice. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Goth. Wars ii. 51 Where leaving their ships they took their journey, putting their schiffs upon waynes to passe the Poe with. 1670 Relat. Siege of Candia 11 We found 3 Schiffs, or wherrys, drawn up upon rowlers. |
2. spec. a. A kind of clinker-built sculling- or pleasure-boat (see quot. 1886). Also, a long narrow racing-boat for one oarsman, outrigged, usually fitted with a sliding-seat, and covered in fore and aft with canvas.
| 1793 in Quiller-Couch Rem. Oxford (O.H.S.) 200 Various vessels, moored in view, Skiff, gig, and cutter, or canoe. 1845 in Sherwood Oxford Rowing (1900) 26 All skiffs or boats constructed for less than four oars..are to be fitted..with a sufficient deck or covering made of wood or waterproof canvass. 1883 Boats of the World 26 Edward Hanlan's paper skiff, which..has been sent along faster than any one-man boat of either hemisphere. 1886 Bourne in Encycl. Brit. XXI. 31/2 The skiff is wider and longer than the gig and of greater depth, and, rising higher fore and aft, with rowlock placed on a curved and elevated gunwale,..rows lighter than the gig. |
| attrib. 1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 46 Aug. 4/1 With rowlocks rising high from the gunwales, on the well-known skiff system still preferred on the Thames. 1895 Daily News 6 July 10/1 The Skiff Club inaugurated its first season with a successful series of races in Teddington Reach. |
b. A light kind of sailing-boat in use on the St. Lawrence. Also attrib.
| 1891 Harper's Weekly 19 Sept. 713/4 High winds and heavy seas have no terrors for the skiff sailors. Ibid., The manner of sailing these skiffs is unique. |
Hence ˈskiffless a., without a skiff or skiffs; ˈskiffman, one who mans a skiff.
| 1829 H. Miller Scenes & Leg. N. Scotl. (1834) 50 Behind spreads wide a skiffless shore. 1868 D. Gorrie Summers & Winters Orkneys vii. 231 The skiffmen make good bargains. |
▪ II. skiff, n.2 Chiefly Sc.
[f. skiff v.2]
1. A slight gust of wind or shower of rain, etc. Also, a light flurry or cover of snow.
| 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 56 Whan skiffs o' wind blaw aff the brae. 1870 in Public Opinion 23 July 110 An occasional skiff with the syringe, to keep the foliage free from dust. 1895 N.B. Daily Mail 20 June 4 Notwithstanding a slight skiff of rain. 1928 Dialect Notes VI. 88 Skiff or skift as applied to snow..means a thin coating. 1959 E. Collier Three against Wilderness xix. 193, I saw the track in a skiff of snow, half a mile from the cabin. 1966 M. & O. Murie Wapiti Wilderness iv. 44 We were glad enough to have a skiff of snow, it made study and counting of tracks so much easier. 1975 Budget (Sugarcreek, Ohio) 20 Mar. 10/5 The weather..has been colder with skiffs of snow here and there. |
2. A slight sketch, trace, touch, etc., of something.
| 1839 Moir Mansie Wauch xxvii. (ed. 2) 363 Wait a moment, till I give a skiff of description of our neighbour Reuben. 1884 Stevenson Lett. (1901) I. vi. 320 I have had a skiff of cold and was finally obliged to take to bed. |
▪ III. skiff, v.1
(skɪf)
[f. skiff n.1]
1. † a. trans. To cross, row, or sail over (a river) in a skiff. Obs.—1
| a 1625 Beaum. & Fl. Two Noble Kinsmen i. iii, Perill and want contending, they have skift Torrents, whose roring tyranny and power I'th least of these was dreadfull. |
b. refl. To row or scull (oneself) in a skiff. In quot. fig.
| 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iv. xvii, I hope she steered herself, skiffed herself, paddled herself to the ceremony. |
2. intr. To row or scull in a skiff; to go on the river in a pleasure-skiff. Hence ˈskiffing vbl. n.
| 1869 Bp. M{supc}Dougall in Morgan Univ. Oars (1873) 314 They..should..confine themselves to mild four-oars and skiffing. 1885 M. Pattison Mem. I. 151 We were together every day, skiffing, walking, teaing. 1898 T. Arnold in 19th Cent. Jan. 106 We used often to go skiffing up the Cherwell. |
▪ IV. skiff, v.2 Sc.
[Perhaps an alteration of skift v.2, but cf. scuff v.]
1. intr. To move lightly and quickly, esp. so as barely to touch a surface; to glide, run, etc., in this manner. Hence ˈskiffing vbl. n.
| 1725 Ramsay Gentl. Sheph. i. i, Neat she was..As she came skiffing o'er the dewy green. a 1758 ― Guardians of the Fair, Watchful guardians of the fair, Who skiff on wings of ambient air. 1791 A. Wilson in Poems & Lit. Prose (1876) II. 19 See Sweet Peggy skiffin' ow'r the lee. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 66 He saw the Vicar..Fast scamperin' and skiffin'. 1866 R. Chambers Ess. Ser. ii. 31 A hurrying across upper floors, and a skiffing up and down stairs. |
2. trans. To touch lightly in passing over; to skim.
| 1807–10 Tannahill Poems (1846) 83 Rude storms assail the mountain's brow That lightly skiff the vale below. 1843 Nicholson Hist. & Tradit. Tales 234 [They] skiff the water on the wing. |