'skinflint' originates from English, specifically the words 'skin' and 'flint,' where 'skin' meant 'outer covering' and 'flint' meant 'a hard stone,' implying someone so miserly they would even try to skin a flint.

'skinflint' appeared in late 17th-century English, often as 'skin-flint,' and eventually solidified into the modern compound 'skinflint.'

Initially, it denoted an extremely parsimonious person, and this meaning has remained essentially the same in modern usage.