What is the Latin word for skim?

The usual Latin words for “skim” are dēspūmō, celer. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“skim” in Latin

dēspūmōto skim (off) (froth); to settle (stop frothing)celerfast, swift, quick, speedy, fleet

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

skim

PROP., despumare (Cels.). To skim a pot, despumare carnes (Plin.): to skim milk, *florem lactis tollere.

Figuratively, leviter transire ac tantummodo perstringere: celeriter or leviter perstringere atque attingere (of touching on a subject lightly). For “to read cursorily,” Vid: CURSORILY. To have skimmed anything, leviter imbutum esse aliqua re; leviter attigisse aliquid.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for skim?: The usual Latin words for “skim” are dēspūmō, celer. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.