scumber 
SCUmber (skum'ber), . [< xe umber, r.] Dung, 
especially that of the fox. [Prov. Eng.] 
scumble (skum'bl), r, t. ; pret. and pp. /- 
bled, ppr. si'iiiiililini/. [Freq. of scum.] In 
oil-painting, to blend the tints or soften the 
effect of, by lightly passing a brush charged 
with a small quantity of an opaque or semi- 
opaque coloring over the surface; in cluilk- or 
pencil-drawing, to rub lightly the blunt point 
of the chalk over the surface of, or to spread 
and soften the harder lines of with the stump: 
as, to scumble a painting or a drawing. 
scumble (skum'bl), H. [< scumble, r.] A soft- 
ened effect produced by scumbling. Sec /- 
Wing. T. H. Lister. 
Scumbling (skum'bling), >i. [Verbal n. of /- 
We, v.] 1. In pain tiny, the operation of lightly 
rubbing a brush charged with a small quantity 
of an opaque or semi-opaque color over the 
surface, in order to soften and blend tints that 
are too bright, or to produce some other special 
effect. Owing to the dryness of the brush, It deposits 
the color in minute granules on the ground-tint instead 
of covering it completely as in glazing. 
Scumbling is painting in opaque colours, but so thin that 
they become semi-transparent. 
J". G. Hamertim, Uraphic Arts, xxi. 
Scumbliny resembles glazing in that a very thin coat is 
spread lightly over portions of the work. 
Encyc. Brit., XVIII. 138. 
2. In chalk- and pencil-drawing, the operation 
of lightly rubbing the blunt point of the chalk 
over the surface, or spreading and softening 
the harder lines by the aid of tne stump. 
SCummer 1 (skum'er), H. [< ME. scomoiere, sciim- 
ure; < scum + -crl. Cf. skimmer, a doublet of 
sciintmer.] One who scums ; au implement used 
in skimming; specifically, an instrument used 
for removing the scum of liquids; a skimmer. 
Pope Boniface the Eighth, a seiimmer of pots. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, ii. 30. (Davie.) 
The salt, after its crystallizing, falls down to the bot- 
tom, and they take it out by wooden scummm, and put it 
in frails. /*'".'/, Remains, p. 120. 
scummer-, r. and . Same as scumber. 
SCUmmingS (skum'ingz). n. pi. [Verbal n. of 
scum, .] Skimmings : as, the scumming* of the 
boiling-house. Imp. Diet. 
scummy (skum'i), . [<SCMW 4- -y 1 .] Covered 
with scum. 
And from the mirror'd level where he stood 
A mist arose, as from a scummy marsh. 
Kent*, Hyperion, i. 
SCUn 1 (skun), v. t. ; pret. and pp. scunned, ppr. 
scunning. [< ME. scunien, sconnen, (. AS. scu- 
nian, shun, on-scunian, detest, refuse : see shun. 
Cf. scunner.] To reproach publicly. Halliwctl. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
SCUn 2 (skun), v. ; pret. and pp. scanned, ppr. 
scunning. [Also scon, scoon; < Norw. slcunna 
= Sw. refl. skynda, dial. skynna = Dan. skynde 
= Icel. skunda, skynda, hasten, hurry, = AS. 
scyndan, hasten : see shunt, and cf. shun. Cf. 
scoon, schooner.] I. intrans. To skip or skim ; 
pass quickly along, as a vessel on the water. 
II. trans. To cause to skip or skim, as a stone 
thrown aslant on the water; skip, 
scuncheon (skun'chon), M. See sconcheon. 
scunner (skun'er), v. [Also skunner, sconner, 
scouner; f req. of scunl, < ME. scunien, sconnen, < 
AS. scunian : see scun*. Hence ult. scoundrel.] 
1. inlrans. 1. To be or become nauseated; feel 
disgust, loathing, repugnance, or abhorrence. 
An' yill an' whisky gi'e to cairds, 
Until they scunner. 
Burns, To James Smith. 
2. To shrink back with disgust or strong repug- 
nance: generally with at before the object of 
dislike. 
II. trans. To affect with nausea, loathing, or 
disgust; nauseate. 
They [grocers] first gie the boys three days' free warren 
among the figs and the sugar-candy, and they get scun- 
nered wi' sweets after that. Kinffsley, Alton Locke, iii. 
[Scotch in all uses.] 
scunner (skun'er), . [Also skunner, sconner, 
scouner; < scunner, '.] A feeling of nausea, 
disgust, or abhorrence; a loathing; a fantastic 
prejudice. 
He seems to have preserved, ... as it were, In the 
pickle of a mind soured by prejudice, a lasting scunner, 
as he would call it, against our staid and decent form of 
worship. Lumen, Biglow Papers, 2d ser., iii. 
There gaed a scunner through the flesh upon his banes : 
and that was Heeven's advertisement. 
R. L. Stevenson, Thrawn Janet. 
scup 1 (skup), n. [< D. schop, a swing, shovel, 
= OHG. scupha, scoplia, a swing-board, MHG. 
schupfe, G. schupf, a push, scliupji, swinging mo- 
5432 
tion, a push, jerk; cf. G. srlm/ifi-n. shove, = Sw. 
skubba, scrub, = Dan. xl:nbb/: shove, push (a sec- 
ondary form from the orig. verb), = D. scliiiii-en 
= G. scliieben, etc., shove : see shore.] A swing: 
a term derived from the Dutch settlers. [New 
York.] 
" What'll you give me if I'll make you n scup one of 
these days?" said Mr. Van Brunt. ... "I don't know 
what it is," said Ellen. "A scup.' may be you don't 
know it by that name; some folks call it a swing." 
Warner, Wide, Wide World, I. ii. 
SCUp 1 (skup), v. i. ; pret. and pp. xcupped, ppr. 
xnii>piug. [< scup 1 , n.] To swing; have a 
swing. [New York.] 
SCUp 2 (skup), n. [Said to be contr. < Amer. Ind. 
(Connecticut) mishcup, < iitix/u-kit/ipe, large, 
thick-scaled; cf. scuppaug, pi. inUMVfpavog, 
scuppaug. Cf. poraee, porgy.] A sparoid fish, 
the scuppaug or porgy. Ntrnntiiiinix nri/i/rops, 
Scup, or Northern 
attaining a length of a foot, and a valued food- 
fish, found from Cape Cod to Florida. The front 
teeth form narrow incisors, and the molars are in two rows. 
The body is compressed, with high back ; the head is dct* ]>, 
with small mouth ; the color is brownish, somewhat sil- 
very below, everywhere with bright reflections, but with- 
out distinct markings in the adult, though the soft parts 
of the vertical fins are somewhat mottled ; the young are 
faintly barred and with dusky axils. This fish is a near 
relative of the sheepshead, and of the plnflsh or sailor's- 
choice (Lagodon rhomboides\ It has had many technical 
names, as Sparus or Paymw or Diplodwt argyrnps, and Sar- 
ffus ambassis. A southern scup is sometimes specified as 
S. aculeatus. 
The warm-water fisheries include the pursuit of a variety 
of fishes, but the scup . . . and the " blue-fish," both mi- 
gratory species, are those whose capture is thought of 
most value. Encyc. Brit., IX. 267. 
SCU 
A 
ppaug(sku-pag'),ii. [Amer. Ind.: see scupV.] 
fish, tne scup. 
scupper (skup'er), H. [Prob. so named because 
the water seems to 'spit' forth from it; < OF. 
escopir, escujnr = Sp. escupir, spit out; per- 
haps < L. exspuere, spit out, < ex, out, + spuerc, 
spit: see spew.] Naut., an opening in the side 
of a ship at the level of the deck, or slanting 
from it, to allow water to run off; also, the gut- 
ter or channel surrounding the deck, and lead- 
ing to such openings: often in the plural. 
Many a kid of beef have I seen rolling in the scuppers, 
and the bearer lying at his length on the decks. 
Jt. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 34. 
Scupper-leather (nous.), a piece of leather placed on the 
outside of a vessel, under the scupper, to prevent the flow 
from it from soiling the paint on the vessel's side. In 
modem ships it is commonly replaced by a guard of 
metal. 
scupper-hole (skup'er-hol), n, A scupper. 
scupper-hose (skup'er-hoz), n, A leather or 
canvas pipe formerly attached to the outer end 
of a scupper to protect the ship's side from dis- 
coloration there, and also to prevent the en- 
trance of water from the outside. 
scupper-nail (skup'er-nal), n. Naut., a short 
nail with a very broad head. 
scuppernong (skup'er-nong), n. [Amer. Ind. 
name of Vitis vulpina.'] A cultivated variety 
of the muscadine, bullace, or southern fox- 
grape, Vitis rotutidifolia (V. vulpina), of the 
southern United States and Mexico. It is a val- 
ued white- or sometimes purple-fruited grape. Its large 
berries are well flavored, and peculiar in that all on a 
bunch do not ripen at once. The ripe berries fall from 
the vine, and are gathered from the ground. 
scupper-plug (skup'er-plug), n. Naut., a plug 
to stop a scupper. 
scupper-valve (skup'er-valv), 11. Naut., a flap- 
valve outside of a scupper, to prevent the sea- 
water from entering, but permitting flow from 
the inside. It is usually held in place by a 
lanyard. 
scuppett, SCUppitt (skup'et, -it), n. [Cf. scop- 
pet.] A shovel or spade of uniform width, with 
the sides turned a little inward. Halliwetl. 
What scuppet have we then to free the heart of this 
muddy pollution? Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 267. 
scuppett, ' t. [< seuppct, ii.] To shovel, as 
with a scuppet: as, to scuppet sand. Nashe. 
scur 1 (sker), r. ; pret. and pp. scurred, ppr. scur- 
ring. [Also skirr ; a var. of scour 2 . Cf. scurry.] 
scurfy 
1. trans. 1. To graze, skim, or touch lightly; 
jerk. Halliu-rll. [Prov. Eng.] 
The broader puddles, though starred by the breeze, 
found the net-work of ice veiling over them. 
R. D. Blackmore, Cripps, The Carrier, ii. 
2. To scour; pass over rapidly, as on horse- 
back. 
Mount ye, spur ye, skirr the plain, 
That the fugitive may flee in vain ! 
Byron, siege of Corinth, xxil. 
II. iiitraim. To run or fly; flit hurriedly: 
scour. [Obsolete or provincial.] 
You shall have a coachman with cheeks like a trum- 
peter, and a wind in his mouth, blow him afore him as fin- 
as he can see him ; or skirr over him with his bat's wings 
a mile and a half ere he can steer his wry neck to look 
whrri' he is. B. Jonson, World in the Moon. 
The light shadows, 
That in a thought scur o'er the fields of corn, 
Halted on crutches to 'em. Fletcher, Bonduca, i. 1. 
SCUT 2 (sker), w. [Origin obscure.] A dwarfed 
or stunted horn. See the quotation. [Scotch.] 
A heifer with only scurs, as the modified horns sometimes 
found in polled cattle and in cross-bred offspring of polled 
and horned breeds are called in Scotland. They are little 
bits of flat horn, loose at the roots, so that you can twist 
them about, and quite hidden in a mass of hair, continued 
from a thick, long tuft, which grows upon a pointed crown- 
ridge, and falls over the forehead and sides of the head ; 
and I have seen similar scurs and top-knots on several fe- 
male short-horns. Quoted in Amer. If at., XXI. 1083. 
SCUlf 1 (skerf), n. [Formerly also skurf, and 
transposed scruff; < ME. scurf, scorf, scrof, < 
AS. scurf, sceorf = MD. scorf, schorft, schurft, 
schroft, D. schurft (with excrescent t) = OHG. 
scorf, MHG. G. schorf= Icel. skurfur, pi., =Sw. 
xkorf = Dan. nJevrv, scurf; from the verb rep- 
resented by AS. sceorfan (pret. pi. scurfon), 
scrape, gnaw; cf. OHG. scurf an, MHG. G. scliiir- 
fen, scratch, MHG. schrephen, G. schropfen, cup 
(bleed); prob. akin to scrape : see scrape*. The 
OHG. form scorf, scurf, is not exactly cognate 
with AS. scurf, which would require OHG. 
'scorb, but goes with the verb scurf en, which 
is a secondary form, cognate with AS. sceor- 
pan. The words of this group, scrape 1 , sharp, 
scarp 1 , scarf 2 , etc., are numerous, and more or 
less complicated in their forms and senses.] 
1. Scaly or flaky matter on the surface of the 
skin; the scarf-skin or epidermis exfoliated in 
fine shreds or scales. Scurf is continually coming 
from the human skin, being removed by the friction of the 
clothes, in the bath, etc. The scurf of the head, where it 
may remain held by the hair in considerable quantity, is 
known as dandruff. In some diseases affecting the skin, 
scurf comes off in large flakes or layers, as in the desqua- 
mation or "peeling" after scarlet fever. 
Well may we raise jars, 
Jealousies, strifes, and heart-burning disagreements, 
Like a thick scur/ o'er life. Middletan, The Witch, i. 2. 
Then are they happy, when by length of time 
The scurf is worn away of each committed crime. 
Dryden, XneiA, vi. 
2. Any scaly or flaky matter on a surface. 
There stood a hill not far, whose grisly top 
Belch'd fire and rolling smoke ; the rest entire 
Shone with a glossy scurf. Milton, P. L., i. 872. 
Specifically (a) In hot., a loose bran-like scaly matter that 
is found on some leaves, as in the genus Eleeagnus, etc. (6) 
A growth of polyps on oysters. 
3. Scum; offscouring. 
Priscian goes yonder with that wretched crowd, 
And Francis of Accorso ; and thou hadst seen there, 
If thou hadst had a hankering for such scurf, 
That one who by the Servant of the Servants 
From Arno was transferred to Bacchiglione. 
Longfellow, tr. of Dante's Inferno, xv. 111. 
SCUrf 2 (skerf), n. [Also scurff, skurff; < ME. 
scurffe; perhaps so called from the scaly or 
scabby appearance : see scurf 1 ,] A gray bull- 
trout; a variety of the trout, Salmo trutta c'nii- 
bricits. [Local, Eng.] 
There are two sorts of them [Bull-trouts], Red Trouts 
and Gray Trouts or Skur/s, which keep not in in the Chan- 
nel of Rivulets or Rivers, but lurk like the Alderlings un- 
der the roots of great Alders. 
Mnfett and Bennet, Health's Improvement (ed. 1746), 
[p. 283. 
SCUrfer (skerf'er), w. One who removes scale 
from boilers. 
The Scrapers' and Scurfcrs' Union. Engineer, LXX. 29:i. 
scurfiness (sker'fi-nes), H. [Early mod. E. 
swrffynesse; < scurfy + -ness.] The state of 
being scurfy; scurfy condition. 
And euer to remayne 
In wretched beggary, 
And niaungy misery, . . . 
And scabbed scorjFt/nesse. 
Skeltnn, Duke of Albany, etc., 1. 140. 
scurf-skin (skerf'skiu), n. Same as scarf-xl.-hi. 
scurfy (sker'fi), a. [< ME. scurfy (= D. schurftig 
= G. xchorfg = Sw. skorfrig, scurfy) ; < .sriir/" 1 -f- 
-y 1 . In another form scurry : see scurvy!.] i. 
