Something that has an oblique or slanted position.
"The mason carefully fitted the skew against the gable's foot to ensure the coping stones would remain secure on the sloped surface."
A stone at the foot of the slope of a gable, the offset of a buttress, etc., cut with a sloping surface and with a check to receive the coping stones and retain them in place; a skew-corbel.
To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
"The uneven weight caused the balance beam to skew at a sharp angle."
Neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line; askew.
"The picture frame looked crooked on the wall because it was slightly skew from being hung straight."
Askew, obliquely; awry.
"The picture frame was hanging slightly askew on the wall after I bumped into it."
The word "skew" comes from Middle English and Old Northern French, where it originally meant to escape or flee. Its roots trace back to Frankish and Proto-Germanic languages, where the original sense was to dread or shun something.