scalp
- the integument of the upper part of the head, usually including the associated subcutaneous structures.
- a part of this integument with the accompanying hair, severed from the head of an enemy as a sign of victory, as by some North American Indians and others during the colonial and frontier periods in the U.S.
- any token of victory.
- the integument on the top of the head of an animal.
- Informal. a small profit made in quick buying and selling.
- to cut or tear the scalp from.
- Informal.
- to resell (tickets, merchandise, etc.) at higher than the official rates.
- to buy and sell (stocks) so as to make small quick profits.
- to plane down the surfaces of (an ingot, billet, or slab).
- Informal. to scalp tickets, stocks, or the like.
Origin of scalp
Examples from the Web for scalp
Contemporary Examples of scalp
On average, humans lose between 50-150 scalp hairs each day.
Al Pacino comes dressed in black and gray, wearing multiple bracelets and an unkempt tuft of hair poking up from his scalp.
Al Pacino Does What He Wants to Do: 'The Humbling,' Scorsese, and That 'Scarface' RemakeAlex Suskind
September 9, 2014
You see people in war paint or doing the tomahawk chop and saying, “Scalp him.”
Shivering, she sat up in bed and ran a hand across her scalp.
Read ‘The Winds of Winter,’ George R.R. Martin's New 'Game of Thrones' ChapterCulture Team
March 27, 2014
Feel your scalp tingle as my voice gently surprises you from behind.
Historical Examples of scalp
The scalp was taken in order that they might have the scalp dance.
The Trail BookMary Austin
Is he a stone that goes to the bottom, or does the scalp burn his head?
The Last of the MohicansJames Fenimore Cooper
Ice was applied to his scalp, and the life of his benefactor was saved.
The hair was sandy; half of it had been burned to the scalp in a withering flame.
Two Thousand Miles BelowCharles Willard Diffin
It's no news that Engle's bunch is out for your scalp, is it?
Old Man CurryCharles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
scalp
- anatomy the skin and subcutaneous tissue covering the top of the head
- (among North American Indians) a part of this removed as a trophy from a slain enemy
- a trophy or token signifying conquest
- hunting, mainly US a piece of hide cut from the head of a victim as a trophy or as proof of killing in order to collect a bounty
- informal, mainly US a small speculative profit taken in quick transactions
- Scot dialect a projection of bare rock from vegetation
- to cut the scalp from
- informal, mainly US to purchase and resell (securities) quickly so as to make several small profits
- informal to buy (tickets) cheaply and resell at an inflated price
Word Origin for scalp
Word Origin and History for scalp
mid-14c., "top of the head (including hair)," presumably from a Scandinavian source (though exact cognates are wanting) related to Old Norse skalli "a bald head," skalpr "sheath, scabbard,"from the source of scale (n.1). French scalpe, German, Danish, Swedish skalp are from English. Meaning "head skin and hair as proof of death or a victory trophy" is from c.1600.
"to cut off (someone's) scalp," 1670s, from scalp (n.), originally in reference to North American Indians. For ticket re-selling sense, see scalper. Related: Scalped; scalping. Cf. German skalpern, Danish skalpere, Swedish skalpera. French scalper is from Germanic. Similarity to Latin scalpere "to cut, carve" is accidental.
scalp
(skălp)- The skin covering the top of the head.