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scuttle

[skuht-l]

Example Sentences Origin

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noun

a deep bucket for carrying coal.

British Dialect. a broad, shallow basket.

Origin:
before 1050; Middle English; Old English scutel dish, trencher, platter < Latin scutella, diminutive of scutra shallow pan

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Scuttle is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Example Sentences

Yes, the stray graduate student who sees you at the supermarket will notice, and perhaps scuttle off to tell his or her cronies.

Writers have been under attack from every amateurish effort to scuttle their readers since before the printing press.

And many species of reptiles scuttle through the underbrush.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used without object)

to run with quick, hasty steps; scurry.

noun

a quick pace.

a short, hurried run.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English scottlynge (gerund), variant of scuddle, frequentative of scud¹

Synonyms
1. hasten, hurry, scamper, scramble.

noun

Nautical.

a small hatch or port in the deck, side, or bottom of a vessel.

a cover for this.

a small hatchlike opening in a roof or ceiling.

verb (used with object)

to sink (a vessel) deliberately by opening seacocks or making openings in the bottom.

to abandon, withdraw from, or cause to be abandoned or destroyed (as plans, hopes, rumors, etc.).

Origin:
1490–1500; perhaps ≪ Spanish escotilla hatchway, equivalent to escot(e) a cutting of cloth (< Gothic skaut seam; akin to sheet¹) + -illa diminutive suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To scuttle

Collins

World English Dictionary

scuttle¹ (ˈskʌt^əl)

—n
1.	See coal scuttle
2.	dialect chiefly (Brit) a shallow basket, esp for carrying vegetables
3.	the part of a motor-car body lying immediately behind the bonnet

[Old English scutel trencher, from Latin scutella bowl, diminutive of scutra platter; related to Old Norse skutill, Old High German scuzzila, perhaps to Latin scūtum shield]

scuttle² (ˈskʌt^əl)

—vb
1.	(intr) to run or move about with short hasty steps

—n
2.	a hurried pace or run

[C15: perhaps from scud, influenced by shuttle]

scuttle³ (ˈskʌt^əl)

—vb
1.	(tr) nautical to cause (a vessel) to sink by opening the seacocks or making holes in the bottom
2.	(tr) to give up (hopes, plans, etc)

—n
3.	nautical a small hatch or its cover

[C15 (n): via Old French from Spanish escotilla a small opening, from escote opening in a piece of cloth, from escotar to cut out]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

scuttle

"bucket," O.E. scutel "dish, platter," from L. scutella "serving platter," dim. of scutra "flat tray, dish," perhaps related to scutum "shield" (see hide (n.1)). A common Gmc. borrowing from Latin (cf. O.N. skutill, M.Du. schotel, O.H.G. scuzzila, Ger. Schüssel). Meaning

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"basket for sifting grain" is attested from mid-14c.; sense of "bucket for holding coal" first recorded 1849.

scuttle

"scamper, scurry," mid-15c., probably related to scud (q.v.).

COLLAPSE

scuttle

"cut a hole in a ship to sink it," 1642, from skottell (n.) "opening in a ship's deck" (1497), from M.Fr. escoutille (Mod.Fr. écoutille), from Sp. escotilla "hatchway," dim. of escota "opening in a garment," from escotar "cut out," perhaps from e- "out" + Gmc. *skaut-. Fig. use is recorded from

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1888.

COLLAPSE