# skell

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. a homeless person, especially one who sleeps in the New York subway.
2. A male suspicious person or crime suspect, especially a street person such as a drug dealer, pimp or panhandler.

## Etymology
* Perhaps from skeleton, describing the often skeletal appearance of drug users.
* Alternatively, from skellum or skelder ("to beg in the streets"). Used by Ben Jonson, 1599.
* In the sense of a suspicious person, popularized by the American TV police drama NYPD Blue.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/skell