scuttle English · revision 1362

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈskʌt.l̩/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Three separate words share this form.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The noun “bucket, basket” is [[inh|enm|scutel]], [[inh|ang|scutel|t=dish, platter]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la|scutella|t=serving platter]], a diminutive of ''scutra'' “flat tray”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The noun “hatch” is from Middle French ''escoutille'' or [[es|escotilla|t=hatchway]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) of uncertain origin.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) The verb “to scurry” is probably related to [[scud]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dish or platter (about 1050);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) a hatch in a ship's deck (1497);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and, implied in ''scottlynge'', to run hurriedly (before 1450).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb “to sink a ship by cutting holes in it” was formed from the hatch noun in 1642,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) and its figurative sense of deliberately wrecking a plan or project dates from 1888.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The basket noun came to mean a coal bucket, short for ''coal-scuttle'', by 1849.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In British political slang of the 1880s, to scuttle was to withdraw hastily from control of a country.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1050 – a dish or platter.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1366–67 – a basket for winnowing grain.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1450 – to run hurriedly.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1497 – a hatch in a ship's deck.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1642 – to sink a ship deliberately.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1849 – a coal bucket.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1888 – to wreck a plan or project.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To sink a ship deliberately by cutting holes in it or opening its seacocks.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To abandon or wreck a plan, hope or project; to [[scrap]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To run with short, hurried steps; to [[scurry]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small hatch with a lid in a ship's deck or hull, or in a roof or wall.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A metal bucket for carrying coal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A shallow open basket.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A short, hurried run.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coal scuttle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scuttlebutt]]

+ * [[scullery]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Wiktionary notes that the verb “to scurry” carries a crab-like sense of panicky leg movements.^(Wiktionary) Random House gives ''hasten'', ''hurry'', ''scamper'' and ''scramble'' as synonyms of that verb.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}