3. To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide
swiftly along the surface of.
Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of
Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean.
Hazlitt.
4. Fig.: To read or examine superficially and rapidly, in order to cull
the principal facts or thoughts; as, to skim a book or a newspaper.
Skim, v. i. 1. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth
course; to glide along near the surface.
Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er the
unbending corn, and skims along the main.
Pope.