Meanings
nounschelm (plural schelms)
plural schelms · alternative schellum · alternative shelm · alternative skellum · alternative skelm · alternative skelum
- ScotlandA villain or scoundrel.
Of her parents he knew nothing, except that "her father must have been a damned hundsfoot, and a schelm, for selling his own flesh and blood to Adrian Brackel;" […]
1822, [Walter Scott], chapter VIII, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 201
Origin
- Dutchschelm
- Dutchschelm
- Englishschelm
Borrowed from Dutch schelm.
More words from Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Swedish skälm
- skälmvillain or scoundrel
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with schelm
realmelmhelmoverwhelmAnselmyelmHjelmKelmChelmat the helmbehelmChełmcoin of the realmdishelmunhelmunwhelmuphelmwhelm
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
schelm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/schelm
MLA
“schelm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/schelm. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “schelm,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/schelm.
Source: schelm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.