scalp

[skalp]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scalp ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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).

verb (used without object)

Informal. to scalp tickets, stocks, or the like.

Origin of scalp

1250–1300; Middle English (north) (noun), perhaps < Old Norse skālpr sheath (hence, metaphorically a covering)

Related formsscalp·er, nounscalp·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for scalp

fleece, overcharge

Examples from the Web for scalp

Contemporary Examples of scalp

On average, humans lose between 50-150 scalp hairs each day.
Birth Control Made My Hair Fall Out, and I’m Not the Only One
Molly Oswaks
October 14, 2014
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' Remake
Alex Suskind
September 9, 2014
You see people in war paint or doing the tomahawk chop and saying, “Scalp him.”
Amanda Blackhorse Is ‘Confident’ Snyder Will Lose His Redskins Appeal
Robert Silverman
June 25, 2014
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' Chapter
Culture Team
March 27, 2014
Feel your scalp tingle as my voice gently surprises you from behind.
ASMR and the Rise of the Whisper Fetish
Aurora Snow
December 7, 2013

Historical Examples of scalp

The scalp was taken in order that they might have the scalp dance.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Is he a stone that goes to the bottom, or does the scalp burn his head?
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
Ice was applied to his scalp, and the life of his benefactor was saved.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 16, July 16, 1870
Various
The hair was sandy; half of it had been burned to the scalp in a withering flame.
Two Thousand Miles Below
Charles Willard Diffin
It's no news that Engle's bunch is out for your scalp, is it?
Old Man Curry
Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan

British Dictionary definitions for scalp

scalp

noun

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

verb (tr)

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

Derived Formsscalper, noun

Word Origin for scalp

C13: probably from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse skalpr sheath, Middle Dutch schelpe, Danish skalp husk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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 in Medicine

scalp

[skălp]

n.

The skin covering the top of the head.