skelp
/skɛlp/verb, noun
skelp is spelled S-K-E-L-P: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 60 million words in written English, the 243,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, skelp means “To beat or slap with the hand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in skelp?
| Letters | 5: S-K-E-L-P |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 60 million words; the 243,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is skelp?
Skelp appears about once in every 60 million words in written English, the 243,301st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce skelp?
- /skɛlp/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-skelp.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of skelp
- skelps present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- skelping participle, present
- skelped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skelp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
ScotlandTo beat or slap with the hand.
- 2
ScotlandTo beat, pound or hammer.
- 3
ScotlandTo drive by blows; to drive (hard), to cause to move rapidly.
- 4
IrelandScotlandTo move briskly along; to run.
- 5
To rain heavily; (of rain) to fall.
- 6
To form (a plate or bar of metal, etc.) into a skelp.
- 7
To bend round (a skelp) in tube-making.
noun
- 1
A blow; a smart stroke, especially with the hand; a smack.
- 2
ScotlandA squall; a heavy fall of rain.
- 3
ScotlandA large portion.
- 4
A narrow strip of rolled or forged metal, ready to be bent and welded to form a pipe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does skelp come from?
From Middle English skelpen, probably of imitative origin. The noun is from Middle English skelp, from the verb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).