Skene

//ˈskiːni// name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An element of ancient Greek theater: the structure at the back of the stage.
  2. 2
    Alternative form of skean (“a kind of dagger”). alt-of, alternative

    "But in the dead of njight, who should come in but James Desmond, sword in hand, with a dozen of his ruffians at his heels, each with his glib over his ugly face, and his skene in his hand."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    Two villages in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, properly Kirkton of Skene and Lyne of Skene.
  3. 3
    A community in Mark Municipality, Västra Götaland, Sweden.
  4. 4
    A census-designated place in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States.

Synonyms

All synonyms
sgian dubh

Example

More examples

"But in the dead of njight, who should come in but James Desmond, sword in hand, with a dozen of his ruffians at his heels, each with his glib over his ugly face, and his skene in his hand."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “tent”). Doublet of scene and scena.

Etymology 2

Spelling variant of Skeen

Related phrases

Kirkton of SkeneLoch of SkeneLyne of Skeneskene dhuskene-dhu

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.