English Online Dictionary. What means scout? What does scout mean?
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /skaʊt/
- (Canada) IPA(key): [skʌʊt]
- Rhymes: -aʊt
- Homophone: Scout
Etymology 1
From Middle English scout, scoult, from Old French escoute (“action of listening”), verbal noun from escouter (“to listen, heed”), from Latin auscultō (“to listen”). The verb comes from the noun.
Noun
scout (plural scouts)
- A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
- Synonyms: (obsolete) espial, (obsolete) espy
- An act of scouting or reconnoitering.
- A member of any number of youth organizations belonging to the international scout movement, such as the Boy Scouts of America or Girl Scouts of the United States.
- A person who assesses and/or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team.
- A person employed to monitor rivals' activities in the petroleum industry.
- (Oxford University, modern) A housekeeper or domestic cleaner, generally female, employed by one of the constituent colleges of Oxford University to clean rooms; generally equivalent to a modern bedder at Cambridge University.
- (Oxford University, Harvard University, Yale University, historical) A domestic servant, generally male, who would attend (usually several) students in a variety of ways, including cleaning; generally equivalent to a gyp at Cambridge University or a skip at Trinity College, Dublin.
- (UK, cricket) A fielder in a game for practice.
- (historical, UK, up until 1920s) A fighter aircraft.
- (radiography) A preliminary image that allows the technician to make adjustments before the actual diagnostic images.
- (informal) Term of address for a man or boy.
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
scout (third-person singular simple present scouts, present participle scouting, simple past and past participle scouted)
- (transitive, intransitive) To explore a wide terrain, as if on a search.
- Synonyms: survey, reconnoiter
- (transitive) To observe, watch, or look for, as a scout; to follow for the purpose of observation, as a scout.
Derived terms
- scout about
- scout around
- scout out
- scout round
- scout up
Translations
Etymology 2
Of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse skúta, skúti (“taunt”), Middle English scoute (“a wretch, rascal, rogue”); thus may be related to English shout.
Verb
scout (third-person singular simple present scouts, present participle scouting, simple past and past participle scouted)
- (transitive) To reject with contempt.
- (intransitive) To scoff.
Translations
Etymology 3
From Middle English scoute, skoute (also schoute, shoute, schuyt), from Middle Low German schûte or Middle Dutch schute; or possibly from Old Norse skúta (“a small craft or cutter”).
Noun
scout (plural scouts)
- (dated) A swift sailing boat.
Etymology 4
Uncertain. The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) groups the verb scout, scoot (/skut/, regionally /skʌut/) "cause liquid to gush" and a noun scout "sudden gush or flow of water, as from a spout or over rock", and consider it of Scandinavian origin, perhaps related to Old Norse skjóta (“shoot”); however, scout (or scut) was formerly also found as a word for "flow of water over rocks, waterfall; ridge or overhang of rocks" in various northern and central English dialects, and there suggested to be of Norse origin, but in this case related to Old Norse skúti (“cave formed by jutting rocks”); it is possible that noun and the verb are unrelated. It is also unclear whether the noun meaning "guillemot" is related; it might derive from their habit of pouring forth excrement.
Verb
scout (third-person singular simple present scouts, present participle scouting, simple past and past participle scouted)
- (Scotland) To pour forth a liquid forcibly, especially excrement; to cause a liquid to gush.
Noun
scout (plural scouts)
- The guillemot.
References
See also
- Scout (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Scout in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
References
Further reading
- “scout”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “scout”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “scout”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English scout.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /skɑu̯t/
- Hyphenation: scout
- Rhymes: -ɑu̯t
Noun
scout m (plural scouts)
- a scout, a boy scout or girl scout
- Synonym: padvinder
- (sports) a talent scout
Related terms
- scouting
French
Pronunciation
Noun
scout m (plural scouts)
- scout, boy scout
Derived terms
- parole de scout
Further reading
- “scout”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
Clipping of boyscout.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈskawt/
- Rhymes: -awt
Noun
scout m or f by sense (invariable)
- scout (a member of the international scout movement)
- Synonym: esploratore
Related terms
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English scout.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /esˈkaut/ [esˈkau̯t̪]
- Rhymes: -aut
Noun
scout m or f by sense (plural scouts)
- scout
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
Swedish
Noun
scout c
- scout; a member of the international scout movement.