skull

[skuhl] /skʌl/
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.
Idioms
4.
out of one's skull, Slang. crazy; demented.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English scolle < Old Norse skalli
Related forms
skull-less, adjective
skull-like, adjective
Can be confused
scull, skull.
Examples from the web for skull
  • He says it could damage the brain, not to mention crack the skull.
  • Hydrocephalus is a buildup of fluid inside the skull, leading to brain swelling.
  • What the calipers cannot measure is whether the brain inside the skull is a used one or an unused one.
  • There's more inside the skull, after all, than brain.
  • Because the brain does not fossilize, they studied endocasts, imprints of the brain left in the skull.
  • After many grueling hours of brain surgery, it's finally time for a surgeon to close up the skull.
  • It was as if my brain had been inflated with a pump until it bulged against the inside of my skull.
  • The chieftain's descendants want the skull returned, if in fact the society has it.
  • In the seventies that would have bought you a smashed camera and probably split skull.
  • Now the skin shrinks against the bones and cracks, the eyes sink into the skull, and vision and hearing become dim.
British Dictionary definitions for skull

skull

/skʌl/
noun
1.
the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates See cranium related adjective cranial
2.
(often derogatory) the head regarded as the mind or intelligence: to have a dense skull
3.
a picture of a skull used to represent death or danger
Word Origin
C13: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse skoltr, Norwegian skult, Swedish dialect skulle
Word Origin and History for skull
n.

"bony framework of the head," c.1200, probably from Old Norse skalli "a bald head, skull," a general Scandinavian word (cf. Swedish skulle, Norwegian skult), probably related to Old English scealu "husk" (see shell (n.)). But early prominence in southwestern texts suggests rather origin from a Dutch or Low German cognate (e.g. Dutch schol "turf, piece of ice," but the sense of "head bone framework" is wanting). Derivation from Old French escuelle seems unlikely on grounds of sound and sense. Old English words for skull include heafod-bolla.

skull in Medicine

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

skull in Science
skull
  (skŭl)   
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.
Slang definitions & phrases for skull

skull

noun

Fellatio; blow job (1970s+ Homosexuals)

Related Terms

go out of one's skull, out of one's head