scut

[ skuht ]

/ skʌt /

noun

a short tail, especially that of a hare, rabbit, or deer.

Nearby words

scurrilously, scurry, scurvy, scurvy grass, scuse, scut, scuta, scutage, scutari, scutari, lake, scutate

Origin of scut

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

Definition for scut (2 of 2)

scut

[ skuht ]

/ skʌt /

noun Slang.

a worthless, contemptible person.

Origin of scut

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for scut

How the Indian Hare came to have a long tail, whereas that part in others attains no higher than a scut?
The Works of Sir Thomas Browne (Volume 2 of 3)|Thomas Browne
Im a free sailor of Queen Bess and fear no scut of a Spaniard as ever twisted a thumb-screw.
In Search of Mademoiselle|George Gibbs
When the wheel broke up there was nothing of her left except her scut, which lay upon the ground.
The Mahatma and the Hare|H. Rider Haggard
The derivation of Mone, who makes scuz and scut altered forms of srot or srut, is not to be entertained.
The River-Names of Europe|Robert Ferguson

On his head is a little round cap, with a tuft made out of a hare's or rabbit's scut.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first|Count Carlo Gozzi

British Dictionary definitions for scut

scut

/ (skʌt) /

noun

the short tail of animals such as the deer and rabbit

Word Origin for scut

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 (1 of 2)

scut

n.2

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

Word Origin and History for scut (1 of 2)

scut

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.).