scup

[ skuhp ]

/ skʌp /

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noun

a sparid food fish, Stenotomus chrysops, found along the Atlantic coast of the United States, having a compressed body and high back.

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Origin of scup

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; short for earlier and dialectal scuppaug, skippaug, skapaug, from Narragansett (English spelling) mishcuppaûog, plural (singular mishcùp )

Words nearby scup

scunge, scungy, scunner, scunnered, Scunthorpe, scup, scupper, scuppernong, scur, scurf, scurfy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scup in a sentence

They are surface feeders, and swim in large schools in quest of menhaden, scup, and other small fishes.
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others|James Alexander Henshall
Well now, come, I'll make a bargain with you; I'll engage to fix up a scup for you if you'll give me a kiss.
The Wide, Wide World|Susan Warner
One of them had declared that he had the "highest old swing," in that "scup," ever taken by mortal, and a good many believed him.
The Coward|Henry Morford
The street boys of our day and early home were wont to term the hetairai of the public walks "scup."
Atlantic Monthly, Volume 6, No. 38, December, 1860|Various

Eastward he swims as "scup," while at the Manhattan end of the Sound he is fried as "porgie."
Atlantic Monthly, Volume 6, No. 38, December, 1860|Various

British Dictionary definitions for scup

scup

/ (skʌp) /

noun

a common sparid fish, Stenotomus chrysops, of American coastal regions of the AtlanticAlso called: northern porgy

Word Origin for scup

C19: from Narraganset mishcup, from mishe big + kuppe close together; from the form of the scales

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