skeet

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the sport of shooting at clay pigeons that are hurled upward in such a way as to simulate the flight of a bird

Etymology

Pseudo-archaic alteration of shoot, perhaps with reference to Old Norse skjóta; compare Scots skite (“to dart, to shoot”). The name for a form of trapshooting is attested from the 1920s, see quotations below. Senses related to ejaculation of semen likely derive from this, but compare also squirt, skite, or scoot. The word skeet is attested in reference to working class persons in US English from the 19th century, or the Newfoundland and Labrador regionalism may derive from other terms such as skite or skeeter; see quotation below.

In classic literature

Synonyms

skeet shooting, trapshooting

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