skate

1 sports equipment that is worn on the feet to enable the wearer to glide along on wheels and to be propelled by the alternate actions of the legs

2 large edible rays having a long snout and thick tail with pectoral fins continuous with the head; swim by undulating the edges of the pectoral fins v : move along on skates; "The Dutch often skate along the canals in winter"

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪt

Etymology 1

earlier scates from schaats from Old North French escache, compare French échasse

Noun

1. A metallic runner with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, -- made to be fastened under the foot, and used for moving rapidly on ice.
2. abbreviated form of ice skate or roller skate
3. The act of skateboarding

   There's time for a quick skate before dinner.

4. The act of roller skating

   Let's skate in the park.

5. The act of ice skating

   The boys had a skate every morning when the lake was frozen.

Translations

• Czech: brusle
• Finnish: luistin
• French: patin
• Hungarian: korcsolya
• Latvian: slida
• Polish: łyżwa
• Russian: конёк (kon'ók) (1,2), полоз (póloz) (2)
• Spanish: patín
• Swedish: skena (1), skridsko (2)

Verb

1. To move along a surface (ice or ground) using skates.
2. To skateboard

Derived terms

• roller-skate
• skateboard
• skate on thin ice
• skatepark
• skater

Translations

• Finnish: luistella
• French: glisser, patiner
• Latvian: slidot
• Spanish: patinar
• Swedish: skrinna, åka skridskor

Etymology 2

From skata.

Noun

1. A large ray of the family Rajidae which inhabits temperate or tropical seas.

Translations

• Icelandic: skata
• Finnish: rausku
• Russian: скат (skat)

Anagrams

• stake
• steak
• takes

French

Verb

1. Form of First-person singular present subjunctive, skater#French|skater
2. Form of Third-person singular present subjunctive, skater#French|skater
3. Form of Second-person singular imperative, skater#French|skater

Latvian

Noun

skate

• IPA:/'skatɘ/

1. A display, an exhibition, or a show.

Norwegian

Noun

no-noun-c skat

1. skate (a fish)
2. a dried tree without branches

Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. They are carnivorous, feeding mostly on smaller fish and crustaceans. They have flat pectoral fins continuous with their head, two dorsal fins and a short, spineless tail. There are more than 200 described species in 25 genera.

Skates are bottom-dwelling and are found throughout the world from continental shelves down to the abyssal zone. They are oviparous fishes, laying eggs in a case known as a mermaid's purse. It is thought that egg-laying in skates is an evolutionary reversal, that is, skates are descended from ovoviviparous ancestors.

The common skate, Dipturus batis, is the largest found in British waters. It has a long, pointed snout. However, the most common skate in British seas is the thornback ray, Raja clavata. They are frequently caught by trawling. Common skate and white skate are assessed as Critically Endangered by IUCN (World Conservation Union) and the fish is listed by the Marine Conservation Society as a "fish to avoid".

The big skate, Raja binoculata, and longnose skate, Raja rhina, are among the most common found in the Pacific Ocean, ranging from southern Alaska to northern Mexico. The big skate , also known as the Pacific great skate, reaches a width of 2.4m (8 ft.) across.

Genera

• Amblyraja
• Arhynchobatis
• Atlantoraja
• Bathyraja
• Breviraja
• Cruriraja
• Dactylobatus
• Dipturus
• Fenestraja
• Gilotea
• Gurgesiella
• Irolita
• Leucoraja
• Malacoraja
• Neoraja
• Notoraja
• Okamejei
• Pavoraja
• Psammobatis
• Pseudoraja
• Raja
• Rajella
• Rhinoraja
• Rioraja
• Rostroraja
• Sympterygia
• Zearaja

Endangerment

Skates have slow growth rates and, since they mature late, low reproductive rates. As a result skates are vulnerable to overfishing and it appears that skates have been overfished and are suffering reduced population levels in many parts of the world. The barndoor skate, Raja laevis, is currently listed with the IUCN as vulnerable due to being severely overfished. However, population data is lacking to determine the exploitation of the big skate at this time.

See also

• Anacanthobatidae, the family of smooth skates.
• Jenny Haniver, a fake sea monster created from a skate corpse

References

External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the common skate (Dipturus batis)
• Kliman, Todd. "Skate Goes From Trash Fish to Treasure", Washingtonian, May 1 2006.

Reptilia, bloke, boy, buck, chap, coast, fellow, flit, flow, fly, gent, gentleman, glide, glissade, guy, ice skates, ice-skate, man, roller skates, roller-skate, sail, sideslip, skateboard, skates, ski, skid, skim, sled, sleigh, slide, slip, slither, snowshoes, sweep, toboggan