<B>scurvy, </B>noun, adjective, <B>-vier,</B> <B>-viest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a disease caused by lack of vitamin C in the diet. It is characterized by swollen and bleeding gums, extreme weakness, and livid spots on the skin. Scurvy used to be common among sailors when they ate too much bread and saltmeat and not enough vegetables and fruits. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>mean; contemptible; base. <BR> <I>Ex. a scurvy fellow, a scurvy trick. A wooden tenement known as the Old Brewery ... had the reputation of being the scurviest hovel in town (New Yorker).</I> (SYN) low. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) scurfy; scabby. adv. <B>scurvily.</B> noun <B>scurviness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="scurvygrass">
<B>scurvy grass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a plant of the mustard family, found in the arctic and northern regions, formerly used as a remedy for scurvy. </DL>
<A NAME="scut">
<B>scut, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an erect, short tail, especially that of a hare, rabbit, or deer. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Slang.) a mean fellow. </DL>
<A NAME="scuta">
<B>scuta, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>scutum.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="scutage">
<B>scutage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a payment exacted in lieu of military service in the feudal system. </DL>
<A NAME="scutate">
<B>scutate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Zoology.) having shieldlike parts or large scales of bone, shell, etc. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Botany.) shaped like a round shield. <BR> <I>Ex. Nasturtiums have scutate leaves.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scutch">
<B>scutch, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to free (flax or hemp fiber) from woody parts by beating. <DD><B> 2. </B>to separate (cotton fibers) after loosening and cleansing <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B><B>=scutcher.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a tool with perpendicular double edges to trim brick. </DL>
<B>scutcheoned, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having scutcheons. </DL>
<A NAME="scutcher">
<B>scutcher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a tool for scutching flax, cotton, or other fiber. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person or thing that scutches. </DL>
<A NAME="scute">
<B>scute, </B>noun. <B>=scutum </B>(def. 1).</DL>
<A NAME="scutella">
<B>scutella, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>scutellum.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="scutellar">
<B>scutellar, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a scutellum. </DL>
<A NAME="scutellate">
<B>scutellate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) <DD><B> 1. </B>having scutella. <DD><B> 2. </B>formed into a scutellum. <DD><B> 3. </B>hollow like a shield; platter-shaped. </DL>
<B>scutellation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>arrangement of scales. <DD><B> 2. </B>a scaly covering, as on a bird's leg. </DL>
<A NAME="scutellum">
<B>scutellum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-la.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) a small plate, scale, or other shieldlike part, as on the feet of certain birds, the bodies of insects, or a cotyledon of some grasses. </DL>
<A NAME="scuti">
<B>Scuti, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> genitive of <B>Scutum.</B> </DL>
<B>scuto bonae voluntatis tuae coronasti nos,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) with the shield of Thy favor Thou hast encompassed us (motto on the state seal of Maryland, in Psalms 5:12). </DL>
<A NAME="scutter">
<B>scutter, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Dialect.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> to scurry. <DD><I>noun </I> a scuttering; scurrying. </DL>
<A NAME="scuttle">
<B>scuttle</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a kind of bucket for holding or carrying coal. (SYN) hod. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) a broad, shallow basket, as for carrying grain or vegetables. </DL>
<A NAME="scuttle">
<B>scuttle</B> (2), verb, <B>-tled,</B> <B>-tling,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> to run with quick, hurried steps; scamper; scurry. <BR> <I>Ex. The dogs scuttled off into the woods.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a short, hurried run. </DL>
<A NAME="scuttle">
<B>scuttle</B> (3), noun, verb, <B>-tled,</B> <B>-tling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an opening in the deck or side of a ship, with a lid or cover. <DD><B> 2. </B>an opening in a wall or roof, with a lid or cover. <DD><B> 3. </B>the lid or cover for any such opening. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1a. </B>to cut a hole or holes through the bottom or sides of (a ship) to sink it. <BR> <I>Ex. After the pirates captured the ship, they scuttled it.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to open the seacocks or valves of (a ship) to sink it. <DD><B> 2. </B>to cut a hole or holes in the deck of (a ship) to salvage the cargo. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>to give up; let go. <BR> <I>Ex. The West was willing to scuttle the present ... government in favor of a truly neutralist one (Time).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to undermine; destroy. <BR> <I>Ex. His weakness for the rash remark eventually would scuttle him (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scuttlebutt">
<B>scuttlebutt, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(U.S. Informal.) rumor and stories not based on fact; gossip. <BR> <I>Ex. Moscow scuttlebutt says Ekaterina is now a sports car buff (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>a water cask for drinking, with a hole in the top for a cup or dipper, kept on the deck of a ship. <DD><B> b. </B>a drinking fountain. </DL>
<A NAME="scuttler">
<B>scuttler</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who hurries off, usually in an undignified manner. </DL>
<A NAME="scuttler">
<B>scuttler</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who scuttles a ship, especially with the design of "losing" her and claiming the insurance money. </DL>
<A NAME="scutum">
<B>scutum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ta.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Zoology.) a shieldlike part, as of a bone or shell, such as is on a turtle or armadillo; scute. <DD><B> 2. </B>a large, oblong Roman shield. </DL>
<A NAME="scutum">
<B>Scutum, </B>noun, genitive <B>Scuti.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a southern constellation near Sagittarius. </DL>
<A NAME="scuzz">
<B>scuzz, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a dirty, shabby person or thing. <BR> <I>Ex. The CC, Eighth Avenue local, was described to me as "scuzz"--disreputable (New York Times Magazine).</I> </DL>
<B>S.C.V.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) Sons of Confederate Veterans. </DL>
<A NAME="scye">
<B>scye, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the armhole of a garment, into which the sleeve is set. </DL>
<A NAME="scylla">
<B>Scylla, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a dangerous rock opposite the whirlpool Charybdis at the extreme southwestern tip of Italy. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Greek Mythology.) a female monster that snatched sailors from ships. Also, <B>Scilla.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>between Scylla and Charybdis,</B> </I>between two evils or dangers, both of which must be avoided. <BR> <I>Ex. to guide the ship of state between the Scylla of provocation and the Charybdis of appeasement (New York Herald Tribune).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scyphi">
<B>scyphi, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>scyphus.</B> </DL>
<B>scyphistoma, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mata.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a scyphozoan embryo that multiplies by budding, and gives rise to permanent colonies of scyphozoans. </DL>
<B>scyphozoan, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> any one of a class of marine coelenterates, including many of the large jellyfishes, having a bell-shaped, gelatinous body and long, trailing tentacles, and lacking a true polyp stage. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or belonging to the scyphozoans. </DL>
<A NAME="scyphus">
<B>scyphus, </B>noun, pl. <B>phi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Botany.) a cupshaped part, such as the end of a lichen's fruit stalk or the corolla of a flower. <DD><B> 2. </B>an ancient Greek cup. </DL>
<A NAME="scytale">
<B>scytale, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a method of secret writing used by the ancient Spartans, in which the message was written on a strip of parchment wound spirally around a cylindrical stick, so that it became illegible when the parchment was unrolled, and could be read only by someone who rewound the parchment on a stick of the same form and size. <DD><B> 2. </B>the stick and parchment used in this method. <DD><B> 3. </B>a secret message conveyed by this method. </DL>
<A NAME="scythe">
<B>scythe, </B>noun, verb, <B>scythed,</B> <B>scything.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a long, slightly curved blade on a long handle, for cutting grass or the like. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cut or mow with a scythe. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to use a scythe. </DL>
<A NAME="scythed">
<B>scythed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having scythes or sharp blades attached to the wheels, as ancient war chariots did. </DL>
<A NAME="scytheman">
<B>scytheman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a man who uses a scythe. <BR> <I>Ex. It suggested the simple, ancient grace of a good scytheman or sower (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) time and death. </DL>
<A NAME="scythian">
<B>Scythian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with ancient Scythia, its people, or their language. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a native or inhabitant of ancient Scythia. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Iranian language of these people. </DL>
<B>SD</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the security service of the Schutzstaffel in Nazi Germany (German, <I>Sicherheitsdienst</I>). <DD><B> 2. </B>South Dakota (with postal Zip Code). </DL>
<B>S. Dak.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> South Dakota. </DL>
<A NAME="sdeath">
<B>'sdeath, </B>interjection.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) "God's death," used as an oath. <BR> <I>Ex. 'Sdeath! sir, do you question my understanding? (Thomas Love Peacock).</I> </DL>
