scat

Origin:
1925–30; origin uncertain; compare British dial. (SW) scat to scatter, fling down, bespatter; Greek skat- (stem of skôr dung; see scato-) is unlikely source, given popular character of the word and unmotivated derivation pattern

noun Slang.

heroin.

Origin:
1945–50; of uncertain origin; compare earlier scat (slang) whiskey

noun

(in the Shetland and Orkney Islands) a crown tax, as for use of common lands.

Also, scatt.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Old Norse skattr tax, treasure

variant of scato- before a vowel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source

Link To scat

Collins

World English Dictionary

scat¹ (skæt)

—vb , scats, scatting, scatted
	informal (intr; usually imperative) to go away in haste

[C19: perhaps from a hiss + the word cat, used to frighten away cats]

scat² (skæt)

—n
1.	a type of jazz singing characterized by improvised vocal sounds instead of words

—vb , scats, scatting, scatted
2.	(intr) to sing jazz in this way

[C20: perhaps imitative]

scat³ (skæt)

—n
	any marine and freshwater percoid fish of the Asian family Scatophagidae, esp Scatophagus argus, which has a beautiful coloration

[C20: shortened from Scatophagus; see scato-]

scat⁴ (skæt)

—n
	an animal dropping

[C20: see scato-]

scato- or (before a vowel) scat-

—*combining form*
	dung or excrement: scatophagous

[from Greek skōr, skat- dung]

scat- or (before a vowel) scat-

—*combining form*

[from Greek skōr, skat- dung]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

scat

"go away!" 1838, from expression quicker than s'cat "in a great hurry," probably representing a hiss followed by the word cat.

scat

"nonsense patter sung to jazz," 1926, probably of imitative origin, from one of the syllables used.

scat

"filth, dung," 1950, from Gk. stem skat- "dung" (see scatology).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Slang Dictionary

scat definition

[skæt]

n.
nonsense syllables sung to music. (Refers to a [primarily black] jazz practice in the jazz era.) : She used to do scat but moved on to blues.
exclam.
Go away! (Usually Scat! Often said to a cat to get it to go away.) : Get out! Scat! Beat it, cat!
in.
to leave. : You guys scat now. I have to go to work.
n.
heroin. (Drugs. From an old term for dung. See also shit.) : Bart is trying to sell scat in the neighborhood again.
n.
inferior whiskey. : You got anything better than that scat, bartender?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

SCAT

School and College Ability Test
special crimes action team
supersonic commercial air transport

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

scat

in biology, any of four species of fishes constituting the family Scatophagidae (order Perciformes). The few species are placed into two genera, Selenotoca and Scatophagus. They are found in marine waters or estuaries of the Indo-Pacific region from the western coast of India to New Guinea and northern Australia and also along the coast of Africa. Occasionally they may enter various freshwater habitats. Scats are known as scavengers, eating decaying plant and animal remains and fecal matter

Learn more about scat with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source

Example sentences

They are hunting not for rare right whales, but for the whale scat.

Foxes and coyotes eat many mice and voles, so their scat has a lot of hair in

it.

Scat content can help guide a hunter to the feeding site of a bear.

They're also supposed to collect scat samples containing broken seed remnants,

to see how well she digests it.