skulk
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\n \n Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 4, 2024 is:\n \n
\n \n\n skulk • \\SKULK\\ • verb
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To skulk is to move around or hide in a stealthy or secretive way. A person or animal that is said to be skulking is often assumed or considered to be up to some form of wrongdoing or mischief.
\n\n// The cat often skulks around the entryway, waiting for someone to open the front door so it can sneak out.
\n\n\n \n \n\n Examples:
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\u201cTo the general public, vultures may seem vaguely repulsive, Edward Gorey-type characters that skulk in bare trees waiting for something to die. But to researchers who study any of the 23 species in today\u2019s vulture consortium, the birds brim with intelligence born of their exceptional vocation.\u201d \u2014 Natalie Angier, The New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
\n \n \n\n Did you know?
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Here's one for the word-puzzle lovers. Name three qualities that the word skulk shares with each of the following words: booth, brink, cog, flit, kid, meek, scab, seem, and skull. If you noticed that all of the terms on that list have just one syllable, then you've got the first, and easiest, similarity. The next two require some special knowledge: all of the words are of Scandinavian origin and all were first recorded in English in the 13th century. As for skulk specifically, its closest known Scandinavian relative is the Norwegian dialect word skulka, which means \u201cto lie in wait\u201d or \u201cto lurk.\u201d Skulk is also used\u2014though less often\u2014as a noun, referring either to \u201cone that skulks\u201d or to a group of foxes, animals often held to be furtively lurking around.
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