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scat

 - 17 dictionary results

scat

1  [skat]
Use scat in a Sentence
–verb (used without object), scat⋅ted, scat⋅ting. Informal.
to go off hastily (often used in the imperative).
Origin:
1865–70, Americanism; of uncert. orig.

scat

2  [skat] verb, scat⋅ted, scat⋅ting, noun Jazz.
–verb (used without object)
1. to sing by making full or partial use of the technique of scat singing.
–noun
2. scat singing.
Origin:
1925–30; of uncert. orig.

scat

3  [skat]
–noun
the excrement of an animal.
Origin:
1925–30; orig. uncert.; cf. Brit. dial. (SW) scat to scatter, fling down, bespatter; Gk skat- (s. of skôr dung; see scato- ) is unlikely source, given popular character of the word and unmotivated derivation pattern

scat

4  [skat]
–noun Slang.
heroin.
Origin:
1945–50; of uncert. orig.; cf. earlier scat (slang) whiskey

scat

5  [skat]
–noun
(in the Shetland and Orkney Islands) a crown tax, as for use of common lands.
Also, scatt.

Origin:
1300–50; ME < ON skattr tax, treasure

scat-

 
var. of scato- before a vowel.

scato-

 
a combining form meaning “excrement,” used in the formation of compound words: scatology.
Also, especially before a vowel, scat-.

Origin:
< Gk skato-, comb. form of skôr dung; akin to OE scearn, ON skarn dung
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scat
scat 1   (skāt)   
intr.v.   scat·ted, scat·ting, scats Informal
To go away hastily; leave at once.

[Origin unknown.]
scat 2   (skāt)   
n.  Jazz singing in which improvised, meaningless syllables are sung to a melody.
intr.v.   scat·ted, scat·ting, scats
To sing scat.

[Origin unknown.]
scat 3   (skāt)   
n.  Excrement, especially of an animal; dung.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
scat [skæt]

  1. 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.
  2. exclam.
    Go away! (Usually Scat! Often said to a cat to get it to go away.) : Get out! Scat! Beat it, cat!
  3. in.
    to leave. : You guys scat now. I have to go to work.
  4. n.
    heroin. (Drugs. From an old term for dung. See also shit.) : Bart is trying to sell scat in the neighborhood again.
  5. 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.
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Word Origin & History

scat  (1)
"go away!" 1838, from expression quicker than s'cat "in a great hurry," probably representing a hiss followed by the word cat.

scat  (2)
"nonsense patter sung to jazz," 1926, probably of imitative origin, from one of the syllables used.

scat  (3)
"filth, dung," 1950, from Gk. stem skat- "dung" (see scatology).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

scato- pref.
Excrement: scatology.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
SCAT

  1. School and College Ability Test

  2. special crimes action team

  3. supersonic commercial air transport

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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.
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