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 Norseskālpr sheath (hence, metaphorically a covering)
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.
v.
"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.
