Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Scāl'y, a. p. 1176Covered or abounding with scales; rough; as, a scaly fish. “The scaly crocodile.” Milton. 2. Resembling scales, laminæ, or layers. 3. Mean; scabby; as, a scaly fellow. See SCALL. [Colloq. and…Scāl'y-winged, a. p. 1176Having wings with scales, as some insects.Seām'ble, v. i. p. 1176To stir quick; to be busy; to scramble; to be bold or turbulent. “The scambling and unquiet time.” Shak. 2. To shift awkwardly; to be awkward. “Some scambling shifts.” More. “A fine old hall, but a…Scăm'ble, v. t. p. 1176To mangle; to maul. Mortimer.Scām'bler, n. p. 1176One who scambles. 2. A bold intruder upon the generosity or hospitality of others. Steevens.Scăm'bling-ly, adv. p. 1176In a scrambling manner; with turbulence and noise; with bold intrusiveness.Sca-mil'lus, n. p. 1176(Arch.) A sort of second plinth or block, below the bases of Ionic and Corinthian columns.Scam-mō'ni-ate, a. p. 1176Made with scammony.Scām'mo-ny, n. p. 1176[Bot.] A plant of the genus Convolvulus (C. scammonia). 2. An inspissated sap obtained from the plant Convolvulus scammonia, of a blackish-gray color, a nauseous smell, and a bitter and acrid taste.…Scāmp, n. p. 1176A great rascal; a scoundrel; a mean villain; a rogue. [Colloq.]Scām'per, v. i. p. 1176To run with speed; to hasten escape.Scăm'per, n. p. 1176A run, as on a horse; hasty flight.Scămp'ish, a. p. 1176Of, or like, a scamp; as, scampish conduct. Hurlbut.Scān, v. t. p. 1176To mount by steps; to go through with step by step; specifically, to go through with, as a verse, marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is composed; to show, in reading, the metrical…Scăn'dal, n. p. 1176Offense caused or experienced; reproach or reprobation called forth by what is regarded as wrong, heinous, or flagrant; imputed disgrace. Have brought scandal To Israel. Milton. 2. Reproachful…Scān'dal, v. t. p. 1176To treat opprobriously; to defame; to asperse; to traduce. [Rare.] I do fawn on men, and hug them hard, And after scandal them. Shak. 2. To scandalize; to offend. [Obs.] Bp. Story. Syn. — To shock…Scăn'dal-ize, v. t. p. 1176To give offense to; to excite the reprobation of; to offend the feelings or the conscience of by some action supposed criminal. I demand who they are whom we scandalize by using harmless things.…Scăn'dal-ous, a. p. 1176Giving offense; exciting reprobation; calling out condemnation; extremely offensive to duty or propriety. “Nothing scandalous or offensive to any.” Hooker. 2. Disgraceful to reputation; bringing…Scăn'dal-ōŭs-ly, adv. p. 1176In a manner to give offense; shamefully. His discourse at table was scandalously unbecoming the dignity of his station. Swift. 2. With a disposition to find fault; censoriously. “Scandalously nice.”…Scăn'dal-ōus-ness, n. p. 1176The quality of being scandalous; the quality of giving offense, or of being disgraceful.Scān'da-la-Mag-nā'tum p. 1176(Law.) A defamatory speech or writing made or published to the injury of a person of dignity; — usually abbreviated scan. mag.Scān'dent, a. p. 1176(Bot.) Climbing, either with spiral tendrils for support, or by adhesive fibers, as a stalk; performing the office of a tendril, as a petiole.Scān'di-nā'vi-an, a. p. 1176(Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, Scandinavia, or ancient Sweden and Norway.Scān'di-nā'vi-an, n. p. 1176(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of Scandinavia.Scăn'sion, n. p. 1176The act of scanning.Scan-sō'rēz, n. pl. p. 1176(Or-nith.) An order of birds whose toes are in pairs, two before and two behind, by which they are enabled to cling to and climb upon trees, as the woodpeckers and parrots. Not all of this order are…Scan-sō'ri-al, a. p. 1176(Bot.) Climbing, or adapted to climbing; — a term applied to the order of birds called SCANSORES. See SCANSORES.Scan-sō'ri-al, n. p. 1176(Ornith.) A bird belonging to the order Scansores.Scānt, v. t. p. 1176Scānt, v. i. p. 1176To fail, or become less; as, the wind scants.Scānt, a. p. 1176Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; less than is wanted for the purpose; scanty; not enough; as, a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment. His…Scănt, adv. p. 1176In a scant manner; with difficulty; scarcely; hardly; not quite. [Obs.] “So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs.” Fuller.Scănt, n. p. 1176The state of being scant or scanty; scantiness; scarcity.Scant'i-ly, adv. p. 1176In a scanty manner; not fully; not plentifully; sparingly; niggardly. Though his mind was very scantily stored with materials, he used what material he had in such a way as to produce a wonderful…Scănt'i-ness, n. p. 1176The quality or condition of being scanty; narrowness; want of amplitude, greatness, or abundance; want of sufficiency. Alexander was much troubled at the scantiness of nature itself. South.Scān'tle, v. i. p. 1176To be deficient; to fail. [Obs.] Drayton.Scān’tle, v. t. p. 1176To scant; to be niggard of; to divide into small pieces; to cut short. [Obs.] All their pay Must your discretion scantle; keep it back. J. Webster.Scānt'let, n. p. 1176A small pattern; a small quantity. [Obs.] Hale.Scant'ling, n. p. 1176A fragment; a bit; a little piece; hence, (a.) A piece or quantity cut for a special purpose; a sample. [Obs.] “A pretty scantling of his knowledge may be taken by his deferring to be baptized so…Scant'ling, a. p. 1177Not plentiful; small. [Obs.] Bp. Taylor.Scānt'ly, adv. p. 1177In a scant manner; not fully or sufficiently; narrowly; penuriously; without amplitude. Dryden. 2. Scarcely; hardly. [Obs.] Scantly they durst their feeble eyes dispread Upon that town. Fairfax.Scānt'ness, n. p. 1177The condition or quality of being scant; narrowness; smallness; insufficiency; exiguity. “Scantness of outward things.” Barrow.Scănt'y, a. p. 1177Wanting amplitude or extent; narrow; small; scant. His dominions were very narrow and scanty. Locke. Now scantier limits the proud arch confine. Pope. 2. Not abundant for use or necessity; not…Scāpe, v. t. or i. p. 1177To get away, or away from; to escape. [Obs. or poet.] Milton.Scāpe, n. p. 1177An escape. I spoke of most disastrous chances, Of hair-breadth scapes in the imminent, deadly breach. Shak. 2. Means of escape; evasion. Donne. 3. Freak; aberration; deviation; slip; fault. “Not…Scāpe, n. p. 1177(Bot.) A peduncle rising from the ground or a subterranean stem, as in the stemless violets, the bloodroot, and the like. 2. (Arch.) (a.) The shaft of a column. (b.) The apophyge of a shaft. Oxf.…Scāpe'-gāl'lows, n. p. 1177One who has narrowly escaped the gallows for his crimes.Scāpe'-gōat, n. p. 1177(Jewish Antiq.) A goat upon whose head were symbolically placed the sins of the people, after which he was suffered to escape into the wilderness. Lev. xvi. 10.Scāpe'-grāce, n. p. 1177A graceless, hair-brained fellow.Scāpe'less, a. p. 1177(Bot.) Destitute of a scape.Scāpe'ment, n. p. 1177The mechanism by which the impulse of the wheels is communicated to, and their motion regulated by, the pendulum of a clock, or balance of a watch. See ESCAPEMENT.Scāpe'-wheel, n. p. 1177The wheel in an escapement, as of a clock, which drives the pendulum, and into the teeth of which the pallet plays.Scâph'ism, n. p. 1177A barbarous punishment inflicted on criminals, among the Persians, by confining them in a hollow tree till they died a miserable death.Scăph'ite, n. p. 1177(Palæon.) A genus of extinct cephalopods of the ammonite family, the shell of which is somewhat boat-like in shape. Dana.Scāph'oid, a. p. 1177Resembling a boat in form; as, the scaphoid bone.Scâph'ă-lă, n. p. 1177(Zoöl.) A genus of conchiferous mollusks found in fresh water in India. Baird.Scā'pi-fōrm, a. p. 1177(Bot.) Resembling a scape, or flower-stem. Gray.Scāp′o-lite, n. p. 1177(Min.) A grayish-white mineral, consisting of silica, alumina, and lime, occurring in four or eight-sided prisms, terminated by low pyramids, and in cleavable masses, with a somewhat pearly luster.…Scâp'ple, v. t. p. 1177To reduce to a straight surface, without working smooth; to scabble. Oxf. Gloss.Scâp'ă-lă, n. p. 1177(Anat.) The shoulder-blade.