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scut1

[skuht]
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noun
  1. a short tail, especially that of a hare, rabbit, or deer.
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Origin of scut1

1400–50; late Middle English: hare < Old Norse skutr stern

scut2

[skuht]
noun Slang.
  1. a worthless, contemptible person.
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Origin of scut2

1870–75; origin uncertain; perhaps continuation of Scots and dial. scout, scoot, Middle English scoute in same sense; perhaps noun use of Scots scout to spurt, squirt out, scoot
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for scut

Historical Examples

  • Pinch its scut or bite its ears, and when it exclaims, "Miauw!"

    Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 102, May 21, 1892

    Various

  • Fluff-Button doubled away nimbly from his rush, but even so the dog's jaws snapped together just behind his scut.

    Lives of the Fur Folk

    M. D. Haviland

  • The fox sprang at it, too late, for the white fangs closed emptily behind its scut.

    Red Eve

    H. Rider Haggard

  • Both male and female have a dark line down the back, rump, and scut.

  • On his head is a little round cap, with a tuft made out of a hare's or rabbit's scut.

British Dictionary definitions for scut

scut

noun
  1. the short tail of animals such as the deer and rabbit
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Word Origin

C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse skutr end of a vessel, Icelandic skott tail
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 scut

n.2

term of contempt for a person, 1873, of unknown origin.

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n.1

"short, erect tail" (of a rabbit, hare, deer, etc.), 1520s; earlier "a hare" (mid-15c.), perhaps from Old Norse skjota "to shoot (with a weapon), launch, push, shove quickly" (cf. Norwegian skudda "to shove, push"), from PIE *skeud- "to shoot, chase, throw" (see shoot (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper