| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| scala | noun | A machine formerly employed for reducing dislocations of the humerus., A term applied to any one of the three canals of the cochlea. |
| scald | verb t. | To burn with hot liquid or steam; to pain or injure by contact with, or immersion in, any hot fluid; as, to scald the hand., To expose to a boiling or violent heat over a fire, or in hot water or other liquor; as, to scald milk or meat., A burn, or injury to the skin or flesh, by some hot liquid, or by steam., Affected with the scab; scabby., Scurvy; paltry; as, scald rhymers., Scurf on the head. See Scall., One of the ancient Scandinavian poets and historiographers; a reciter and singer of heroic poems, eulogies, etc., among the Norsemen; more rarely, a bard of any of the ancient Teutonic tribes. |
| scale | noun | The dish of a balance; hence, the balance itself; an instrument or machine for weighing; as, to turn the scale; — chiefly used in the plural when applied to the whole instrument or apparatus for weighing. Also used figuratively., The sign or constellation Libra., To weigh or measure according to a scale; to measure; also, to grade or vary according to a scale or system., One of the small, thin, membranous, bony or horny pieces which form the covering of many fishes and reptiles, and some mammals, belonging to the dermal part of the skeleton, or dermoskeleton. See Cycloid, Ctenoid, and Ganoid., Hence, any layer or leaf of metal or other material, resembling in size and thinness the scale of a fish; as, a scale of iron, of bone, etc., One of the small scalelike structures covering parts of some invertebrates, as those on the wings of Lepidoptera and on the body of Thysanura; the elytra of certain annelids. See Lepidoptera., A scale insect. (See below.), A small appendage like a rudimentary leaf, resembling the scales of a fish in form, and often in arrangement; as, the scale of a bud, of a pine cone, and the like. The name is also given to the chaff on the stems of ferns., The thin metallic side plate of the handle of a pocketknife. See Illust. of Pocketknife., An incrustation deposit on the inside of a vessel in which water is heated, as a steam boiler., The thin oxide which forms on the surface of iron forgings. It consists essentially of the magnetic oxide, Fe3O4. Also, a similar coating upon other metals., To strip or clear of scale or scales; as, to scale a fish; to scale the inside of a boiler., To take off in thin layers or scales, as tartar from the teeth; to pare off, as a surface., To scatter; to spread., To clean, as the inside of a cannon, by the explosion of a small quantity of powder., To separate and come off in thin layers or laminae; as, some sandstone scales by exposure., To separate; to scatter., A ladder; a series of steps; a means of ascending., Hence, anything graduated, especially when employed as a measure or rule, or marked by lines at regular intervals., A mathematical instrument, consisting of a slip of wood, ivory, or metal, with one or more sets of spaces graduated and numbered on its surface, for measuring or laying off distances, etc., as in drawing, plotting, and the like. See Gunter’s scale., A series of spaces marked by lines, and representing proportionately larger distances; as, a scale of miles, yards, feet, etc., for a map or plan., A basis for a numeral system; as, the decimal scale; the binary scale, etc., The graduated series of all the tones, ascending or descending, from the keynote to its octave; — called also the gamut. It may be repeated through any number of octaves. See Chromatic scale, Diatonic scale, Major scale, and Minor scale, under Chromatic, Diatonic, Major, and Minor., Gradation; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order; as, a scale of being., Relative dimensions, without difference in proportion of parts; size or degree of the parts or components in any complex thing, compared with other like things; especially, the relative proportion of the linear dimensions of the parts of a drawing, map, model, etc., to the dimensions of the corresponding parts of the object that is represented; as, a map on a scale of an inch to a mile., To climb by a ladder, or as if by a ladder; to ascend by steps or by climbing; to clamber up; as, to scale the wall of a fort., To lead up by steps; to ascend. |
| scall | adjective | A scurf or scabby disease, especially of the scalp., Scabby; scurfy. |
| scalp | noun | A bed of oysters or mussels., That part of the integument of the head which is usually covered with hair., A part of the skin of the head, with the hair attached, cut or torn off from an enemy by the Indian warriors of North America, as a token of victory., Fig.: The top; the summit., To deprive of the scalp; to cut or tear the scalp from the head of., To remove the skin of., To brush the hairs or fuzz from, as wheat grains, in the process of high milling., To make a small, quick profit by slight fluctuations of the market; — said of brokers who operate in this way on their own account. |
| scaly | adjective | Covered or abounding with scales; as, a scaly fish., Resembling scales, laminae, or layers., Mean; low; as, a scaly fellow., Composed of scales lying over each other; as, a scaly bulb; covered with scales; as, a scaly stem. |
| scamp | noun | A rascal; a swindler; a rogue., To perform in a hasty, neglectful, or imperfect manner; to do superficially. |
| scant | superl. | Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; less than is wanted for the purpose; scanty; meager; not enough; as, a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment., Sparing; parsimonious; chary., To limit; to straiten; to treat illiberally; to stint; as, to scant one in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries., To cut short; to make small, narrow, or scanty; to curtail., To fail, or become less; to scantle; as, the wind scants., In a scant manner; with difficulty; scarcely; hardly., Scantness; scarcity. |
| scape | noun | A peduncle rising from the ground or from a subterranean stem, as in the stemless violets, the bloodroot, and the like., The long basal joint of the antennae of an insect., The shaft of a column., The apophyge of a shaft., To escape., An escape., Means of escape; evasion., A freak; a slip; a fault; an escapade., Loose act of vice or lewdness. |
| scard | noun | A shard or fragment. |
| scare | verb t. | To frighten; to strike with sudden fear; to alarm., Fright; esp., sudden fright produced by a trifling cause, or originating in mistake. |
| scarf | noun | A cormorant., An article of dress of a light and decorative character, worn loosely over the shoulders or about the neck or the waist; a light shawl or handkerchief for the neck; also, a cravat; a neckcloth., To throw on loosely; to put on like a scarf., To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose wrapping., To form a scarf on the end or edge of, as for a joint in timber, metal rods, etc., To unite, as two pieces of timber or metal, by a scarf joint., In a piece which is to be united to another by a scarf joint, the part of the end or edge that is tapered off, rabbeted, or notched so as to be thinner than the rest of the piece., A scarf joint. |
| scarn | noun | Dung. |
| scarp | noun | A band in the same position as the bend sinister, but only half as broad as the latter., The slope of the ditch nearest the parapet; the escarp., A steep descent or declivity., To cut down perpendicularly, or nearly so; as, to scarp the face of a ditch or a rock. |
| scary | noun | Barren land having only a thin coat of grass., Subject to sudden alarm., Causing fright; alarming. |
| scatt | noun | Tribute. |
| scate | noun | See Skate, for the foot. |
| scath | verb | Harm; damage; injury; hurt; waste; misfortune., To do harm to; to injure; to damage; to waste; to destroy. |
| scaup | noun | A bed or stratum of shellfish; scalp., A scaup duck. See below. |
| scaur | noun | A precipitous bank or rock; a scar. |