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.
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.Scăp'ū-lar, a. p. 1177Pertaining to the shoulder, or to the scapula; as, the scapular arteries.Scăp'ū-lar, n. p. 1177(Ornith.) A feather which springs from the shoulder of the wing, and lies along the side of the back.Scăp'ū-lar or Scăp'ū-la-ry, n. p. 1177A part of the habit of certain religious orders in the Roman Catholic church, consisting of two bands of woolen stuff worn over the gown, of which one crosses the back or shoulders, and the other the…Scăp'ū-la-ry, a. p. 1177The same as SCAPULAR.Scā'pus, n. p. 1177(Ornith.) The stem or trunk of a feather. 2. (Arch.) A scape. See SCAPE. 3. (Bot.) A scape. [See SCAPE, 1, and Illust.]Scār, n. p. 1177A mark in the skin or flesh of an animal, made by a wound or ulcer, and remaining after the wound or ulcer is healed; a cicatrix; a mark left by a previous injury; a blemish. The earth had the beauty…Scār, n. p. 1177(Ichth.) A fish of the genus Scarus, commonly called parrot-fish.Scār, v. t. p. 1177To mark with a scar, or scars. His cheeks were deeply scarred. Macaulay.Scār, v. i. p. 1177To form a scar; to be covered with a scar; as, a wound scars over.Scār'ab or Scār'a-bee', n. p. 1177(Entom.) An insect of the genus Scarabæus, whose wings are cased; a beetle.Scār'a-mouch', n. p. 1177A personage in the old Italian comedy, derived from Spain, characterized by great boastfulness and poltroonery; a buffoon; hence, a person of like characteristics.Scārce, a. p. 1177Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. The scarcest of all is a Pescennius Niger on a medallion well preserved. Addison.…Scārce or Scārce'ly, adv. p. 1177With difficulty; hardly; scantily; barely; but just. “With a scarce well-lighted flame.” Shak. Slowly he sails, and scarcely stems the tides. Dryden.Scârce'ment, n. p. 1177(Arch.) A set-back, or rebate, in building walls or raising banks of earth; a footing.Scârce'ness or Scâr'ci-ty, n. p. 1177The condition of being scarce; smallness of quantity in proportion to the wants or demands; deficiency; defect of plenty; penury; as, a scarcity of grain; a great scarcity of beauties. A scarcity of…Scārd, n. p. 1177A shard or fragment. [Prov. Eng.]Scāre, v. t. p. 1177To terrify suddenly; to strike with sudden terror; to make afraid; to fright. The noise of thy cross-bow Will scare the herd, and so my shot is lost. Shak. To scare away, to drive away by frightening.Scāre'crōw, n. p. 1177Any thing set up to frighten crows or other fowls from cornfields; hence, any thing terrifying without danger; a vain terror. A scarecrow set to frighten fools away. Dryden. 2. (Ornith.) The black…Scāre′fīre, n. p. 1177An alarm of fire. Halliwell. 2. A fire breaking out so as to frighten people.Scārf, n. p. 1177A piece of dress of a light and decorative character, worn loosely over the shoulders or about the neck; a light shawl or handkerchief for the neck. Put on your hood and scarf. Swift. 2. (Ornith.) A…Scārf, v. t. p. 1177To throw loosely on; to put on like a scarf. 2. To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose vesture. Shak.Scārf, v. t. p. 1177To cut a scarf on, as for a joint in timber; to unite, as two pieces of timber, longitudinally by a scarf-joint; to table.Scārf, n. p. 1177(Carp.) (a.) The part cut away from each of two pieces of timber to be joined longitudinally, so that the corresponding ends may fit together in an even joint. (b.) The joint so formed. Scarf joint…Scārf'skīn, n. p. 1177(Anat.) The outer thin integument of the body; the cuticle; the epidermis. Cheyne.Scārf'weld, n. p. 1177See WELD.Scār'/i-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 1177(Surg.) The operation of scarifying, especially with the cupping instrument.Scār'i-fi-cā'tor, n. p. 1177(Surg.) An instrument used in cupping, containing several lancets moved simultaneously by a spring, for making a number of incisions at once.Scār'i-fi'er, n. p. 1177One who scarifies. 2. The instrument used for scarifying. 3. (Agric.) An implement for stirring and loosening the soil, without bringing up a fresh surface. You have your scarifiers to make the…Scăr'i-fy, v. t. p. 1177To scratch or cut the skin of; to make small incisions in, by means of a lancet or cupping instrument, so as to draw blood from the smaller vessels without opening a large vein. 2. To stir the…Scā'ri-ōse' or Scā'ri-oūs, a. p. 1177(Bot.) Tough, thin, dry, and membranous.Scär'/la-tĭ'na, n. p. 1177(Med.) Scarlet fever. See SCARLET FEVER.Scar-lāt'i-noūs, a. p. 1177Of a scarlet color; pertaining to the scarlet fever.Scār'less, a. p. 1177Without scars; unwounded. “Safe and scarless yet remains my mind.” Drummond.Scār'let, n. p. 1177An orange-red color, of many tints, hues, and shades. 2. Cloth of a scarlet color. All her household are clothed with scarlet. Prov. xxxi. 21.Scār'let, a. p. 1177Of the color called scarlet; of an orange-red color; as, a scarlet cloth or thread; a scarlet lip. Scarlet bean (Bot.), a plant of the genus Phaseolus (P. multiflorus), having scarlet flowers…Scär'let, v. t. p. 1178To make bright-red; to redden. [R.] The ashy paleness of my cheek Is scarleted in ruddy flakes of wrath. Ford.Scär'mage or Scär'moge, n. p. 1178The same as SKIRMISH. See SKIRMISH. [Obs.] Spenser.Scärn, n. p. 1178Dung. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Ray.