scout

Scout, to search or spy, is from Old French escouter, to listen; scout, to reject with scorn, is of Scandinavian origin.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /skaʊt/^[4]

scout¹ spy, search

Etymology

It is, with loss of the first syllable, borrowed from Old French escouter (“to listen, heed”) (modern écouter),^[1][2][3] a variant of ascouter, from Vulgar Latin *ascultāre,^[1][3] from Latin auscultāre, to listen (see auscultation),^[1][2][5] which Barnhart derives from a form meaning “heard with one's own ears”, related to auris, ear.^[1] Word Origins notes that the first scouts used their ears rather than their eyes.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To search or spy out: probably about 1380,^[1] the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Middle English scout-watch, a sentinel, is from the late 14th century.^[2][3] The noun, an act of scouting, is from 1553, and a person sent ahead to reconnoitre from 1555, from Middle French escoute, a listener, sentinel.^[1][7][5] The Boy Scout is from 1908, as is Scout as a short form,^[2] and a talent scout, who looks for promising players or performers, belongs to modern usage.^[8][9] At Oxford a scout is a college servant.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – to search, spy.^[1]
• 1553 – an act of scouting.^[1]
• 1555 – a person who scouts.^[1][7]
• 1908 – Boy Scout.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person, ship or aircraft sent ahead to gather information, especially about an enemy.
2. A member of the Scouts, a youth organization.
3. A person who looks for talented players or performers.
4. (Oxford) A college servant.

Verb

1. To explore or search an area to gather information; to reconnoitre.
2. To look for and assess talented people.

Word family

• scouting
• scoutmaster
• talent scout

scout² reject scornfully

Etymology

It is from a Scandinavian source: compare borrowed from Old Norse skúta (“to taunt”),^[1][2] which Etymonline relates to skotja, to shoot, and so to shout.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To mock or treat with contempt: 1605, about 1600 in Etymonline, now obsolete.^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

To reject an idea with scorn is from 1710.^[1][2] Middle English scoute, a wretch or rogue (late 14th century), may be related.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1605 – to mock.^[1]
• 1710 – to reject with scorn.^[1][2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. (archaic) To reject an idea or suggestion with scorn.

Related words

• auscultation

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins