Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SKIRT, n. [skurt; Sw. skiorta, a shift or close garment; Dan. skior, a petticoat; skiorte, a shirt, a shift. These words seem to be from the root of short, from cutting off.]

1. The lower and loose part of a coat or other garment; the part below the waist; as, the skirt of a coat or mantle. – 1 Sam. xv.
2. The edge of any part of dress. – Addison.
3. Border; edge; margin; extreme part; as, the skirt of a forest; the skirt of a town. – Dryden.
4. A woman's garment like a petticoat.
5. The diaphragm or midriff in animals. To spread the skirt over, in Scripture, to take under one's a care and protection. Ruth iii.