scrap

Scrap, a fragment, came from Old Norse; scrap, a fight, is a later word, perhaps from scrape.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /skræp/^[4]

scrap¹ fragment

Etymology

The fragment is inherited from Middle English scrappe, borrowed from Old Norse skrap (“scraps, trifles”), related to skrapa (“to scrape”) (see scrape).^{[1][3][2][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

Remains of a meal, scraps of food: 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden.^[1][7][3]

Semantic evolution

Any small remnant or detached piece is from 1583,^[1][7][3] often in the negative, not a scrap.^[3] A scrap of paper is from 1840, made notorious in 1914 by the German chancellor's words about the treaty on Belgian neutrality.^[3][7] Scrap iron is from 1823 and the scrapbook from 1825.^[1] The verb, to break up into scrap, is from 1883, of locomotives, or 1891 in Barnhart.^[3][1] Scrappy, made of odds and ends, is from 1837.^[1]

Timeline

• 1387 – scraps of food.^[1][7]
• 1583 – a small piece.^[1][7]
• 1823 – scrap iron.^[1]
• 1825 – scrapbook.^[1]
• 1840 – a scrap of paper.^[3][7]
• 1883 – to scrap (verb).^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small piece of something larger; a fragment.
2. scraps: leftover bits of food.
3. Waste material, especially metal, for reprocessing: scrap iron.
4. An extract from something written.

Verb

1. To break down for scrap or salvage.
2. To discard as useless.

Word family

• scrapbook
• scrappy
• scrapheap

scrap² fight

Etymology

The fight is possibly a variant of scrape, in the sense of an awkward predicament or abrasive encounter;^[1][3][2] Weekley and the OED, as cited by Etymonline, suggest an obsolete scrap, a villainous scheme (1679–80).^[3][1] Merriam-Webster calls it of unknown origin.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A struggle or tussle; a boxing match: 1846.^[1][7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to fight or quarrel, is from 1874,^[1] and scrappy, fond of fighting, is American English from 1895.^[1]

Timeline

• 1679–80 – a villainous scheme (obsolete).^[1][7]
• 1846 – a fight.^[1][7]
• 1874 – to scrap (verb).^[1]
• 1895 – scrappy, quarrelsome (US).^[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (informal) A fight or scuffle.

Verb

1. (informal) To fight, often with the fists.

Related words

• scrape

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
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 c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press