Middle English Dictionary Entry
skimming ger.
Entry Info
| Forms | skimming ger. Also skiming, skemming. |
| Etymology |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
The impure foam that rises to the surface when a liquid is boiled or heated; also, the scum that rises to the surface in purifying gold or silver.
Associated quotations
- ?a1425 *MS Htrn.95 (Htrn 95)196a/b : Litarge is þe skymyng of gold oþir off siluer and þe dragges of tyn & of lede, and it is colde & drye in þe firste degre.
- c1450 Med.Bk.(2) (Add 33996)198 : Tak vryne viij galones, & loke þat hyt be clere; put hyt in apanne ouer þe fuyr, & skem hyt wel as long as eny skemmyng wol aryse.