From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Skim \Skim\, a.
Contraction of Skimming and Skimmed.
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Skim coat, the final or finishing coat of plaster.
Skim colter, a colter for paring off the surface of land.
Skim milk, skimmed milk; milk from which the cream has been
taken.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Skim \Skim\ (sk[i^]m), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Skimmed (sk[i^]md);
p. pr. & vb. n. Skimming.] [Cf. Sw. skymma to darken.
[root]158. See Scum.]
1. To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or
lying thereon, by means of a utensil that passes just
beneath the surface; as, to skim milk; to skim broth.
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2. To take off by skimming; as, to skim cream.
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3. To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to
glide swiftly along the surface of.
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Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the
top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the
ocean. --Hazlitt.
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4. Fig.: To read or examine superficially and rapidly, in
order to cull the principal facts or thoughts; as, to skim
a book or a newspaper.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Skim \Skim\, v. i.
1. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course;
to glide along near the surface.
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Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain,
Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the
main. --Pope.
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2. To hasten along with superficial attention.
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They skim over a science in a very superficial
survey. --I. Watts.
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3. To put on the finishing coat of plaster.
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