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scud

 - 5 dictionary results

scud

1  [skuhd] verb, scud⋅ded, scud⋅ding, noun
Use scud in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to run or move quickly or hurriedly.
2. Nautical. to run before a gale with little or no sail set.
3. Archery. (of an arrow) to fly too high and wide of the mark.
–noun
4. the act of scudding.
5. clouds, spray, or mist driven by the wind; a driving shower or gust of wind.
6. low-drifting clouds appearing beneath a cloud from which precipitation is falling.
Origin:
1525–35; < MLG schudden to shake

scud

2  [skuhd] verb, scud⋅ded, scud⋅ding, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to cleanse (a trimmed and roughly depilated skin or hide) of remaining hairs or dirt.
–noun
2. the hairs or dirt removed by scudding.
Origin:
1635–45; perh. to be identified with obs. scud dirt < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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scud   (skŭd)   
intr.v.   scud·ded, scud·ding, scuds

  1. To run or skim along swiftly and easily: dark clouds scudding by.

  2. Nautical To run before a gale with little or no sail set.

n.  

  1. The act of scudding.

    1. Wind-driven clouds, mist, or rain.

    2. A gust of wind.

    3. Ragged low clouds, moving rapidly beneath another cloud layer.


[Possibly from Middle English scut, rabbit, rabbit's tail; see scut1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

scud  (v.)
"to move quickly," 1532, perhaps a variant of M.E. scut "rabbit, rabbit's tail," in reference to its movements, perhaps from O.N. skjota "to throw, shoot" (cf. Norw. skudda "to shove, push"), but there are phonetic difficulties. Perhaps rather from a N.Sea Gmc. source akin to M.L.G., M.Du. schudden "to shake." The noun meaning "type of ballistic missile" is the NATO reporting name for a type of Soviet missile introduced in the 1960s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

scud

any member of the invertebrate order Amphipoda (class Crustacea) inhabiting all parts of the sea, lakes, rivers, sand beaches, caves, and moist (warm) habitats on many tropical islands. Marine amphipods have been found at depths of more than 9,100 m (30,000 feet). Freshwater and marine beach species are commonly known as scuds; those that occupy sand beaches are called sand hoppers, or sand fleas (see sand flea). About 4,600 species have been described. Extraordinarily abundant in the rocky coastal regions of all seas and often exceeding densities of 10,000 per square m (1,000 per square foot), amphipods are often mistaken for tiny shrimp, which they resemble. They are important food for many fishes, invertebrates, penguins, shore birds, small cetaceans, and pinnipeds. Amphipods are also important as scavengers of carrion

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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