Etymologically
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scuttle

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈskʌt.l̩/[1]

Etymology

Three separate words share this form.[2][3][4][5] The noun “bucket, basket” is inherited from Middle English scutel, inherited from Old English scutel (“dish, platter”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin scutella (“serving platter”), a diminutive of scutra “flat tray”.[2][3][4][5][6] The noun “hatch” is from Middle French escoutille or Spanish escotilla (“hatchway”),[2][3][4][6] of uncertain origin.[2][3] The verb “to scurry” is probably related to scud.[2][3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A dish or platter (about 1050);[7][3] a hatch in a ship's deck (1497);[7][3] and, implied in scottlynge, to run hurriedly (before 1450).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb “to sink a ship by cutting holes in it” was formed from the hatch noun in 1642,[3][4][5][7] and its figurative sense of deliberately wrecking a plan or project dates from 1888.[3][4][7] The basket noun came to mean a coal bucket, short for coal-scuttle, by 1849.[3][4][7] In British political slang of the 1880s, to scuttle was to withdraw hastily from control of a country.[7]

Timeline

  • about 1050 – a dish or platter.[7][3]
  • 1366–67 – a basket for winnowing grain.[7][3]
  • before 1450 – to run hurriedly.[7][3]
  • 1497 – a hatch in a ship's deck.[7][3]
  • 1642 – to sink a ship deliberately.[7][3][5]
  • 1849 – a coal bucket.[7][3][4]
  • 1888 – to wreck a plan or project.[7][3][4]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To sink a ship deliberately by cutting holes in it or opening its seacocks.
  2. To abandon or wreck a plan, hope or project; to scrap.
  3. To run with short, hurried steps; to scurry.

Noun

  1. A small hatch with a lid in a ship's deck or hull, or in a roof or wall.
  2. A metal bucket for carrying coal.
  3. A shallow open basket.
  4. A short, hurried run.

Word family

  • coal scuttle
  • scuttlebutt
  • scullery

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that the verb “to scurry” carries a crab-like sense of panicky leg movements.[1] Random House gives hasten, hurry, scamper and scramble as synonyms of that verb.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press