Quote Originally Posted by jkdesq
Yes, words have origins in other words and words come from various languages. I believe we can take it as a given that we are all speaking and reading modern English. I doubt few people in the world speak or read Old Norse, so why worry about what "skort" meant to people 700 years ago.

Dreadbelly, whether you agree with me or not you have to agree that there is room to disagree. No matter what King Cnute thought a "skort" was, there is no right or wrong answer.

As I said, my "vote" is for the OED view. Take what ever view you want.
Since I am on a short leash, I shall do my best to remain polite and civil and gentle natured.

Skyrt, skirt, however you choose to spell it, originated in old Norsk. However, your statement fails to take in to account how the word has survived through the ages and modernised to include other features or characteristics, like any part of a shirt that hangs below the waist. If we followed your OED, my long shirts would belong to my wife from the waist down. My trench coat would also being to my wife from the waist down, as anything "skirt" is defined as a woman's garment according to your chosen definition. And yet the fact remains that the section of my trench coat that hangs below the waist is called a "skirt." If I wore a long tunic, it would only be a man's garment from the waist up, if we followed your single outlook. And it is in these instances that your definition fails. Skirt survived simply because it was an easy cover all description of any sort of cloth that draped or hung below the waist.

My two rupees.