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Origin and history of scut

scut(n.1)

"short, erect tail" (of a rabbit, hare, deer, etc.), 1520s; earlier "a hare" (mid-15c., perhaps c. 1300), a word of obscure origin.

Perhaps it is from Old Norse skjota "to shoot (with a weapon), launch, push, shove quickly" (compare Norwegian skudda "to shove, push"), from PIE root *skeud- "to shoot, chase, throw." Or perhaps it is a relative of Middle English sheten "hasten from one place to another," from Old English sceotan, sceotian, from Proto-Germanic *skeutanan (source also of Old Frisian skiata "to shoot, supply," Old Dutch scietan), for which Boutkan offers no IE etymology.

Also compare Middle English scut (v.) "make short, hurried runs," as a noun, "a short garment" (mid-15c.), as an adjective, "short" (c. 1200), perhaps from Old French escorter, from Latin excurtare.

scut(n.2)

term of contempt for a person, 1873, of unknown etymology. OED suggests it is a variant of scout (v.2).

also from 1873

Entries linking to scut

scout(v.2)

"to reject (something) with scorn," 1710, earlier "to mock, ridicule, treat with disdain and contempt" (c. 1600, now obsolete), of Scandinavian origin (compare Old Norse skuta, skute "to taunt"), from skotja "to shoot" (on the notion of a "shooting of words"), which according to Watkins is from a Proto-Germanic *skut- from PIE root *skeud- "to shoot, chase, throw." also source of shout (v.). Compare Middle English scoute (n.) "a wretch, rascal, rogue" (male or female), attested from late 14c. Related: Scouted; scouting; scoutingly.

scud(v.)

"to move quickly, shoot or fly along with haste," 1530s, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps echoic somehow, or perhaps it is a variant of Middle English scut "rabbit, rabbit's tail," in reference to its movements (see scut (n.1)), but there are phonetic difficulties with that. Perhaps it is rather from a North Sea Germanic source akin to Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schudden "to shake" (see quash). OED is against connection with Danish skyde "shoot, push, shove," Old English sceotan "to shoot." Related: Scudded; scudder; scudding.

Especially nautical, "to run before a gale with little or no sail set" (1580s). As a noun, "act or action of scudding," by c. 1600, from the verb. With many extended senses, such as "small shreds of clouds driven rapidly along under a mass of storm cloud," attested by 1660s. The noun also was the NATO reporting name for a type of Soviet missile introduced in the 1960s.

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Trends of scut

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

scuttle
Middle English scutel "dish; basket, winnowing basket," from late Old English scutel "broad, shallow dish; platter," from Latin scutella "serving platter" (source also of Old French escuelle, Modern French écuelle, Spanish escudilla, Italian scudella "a plate, bowl"), diminutive
rabbit
common burrowing mammal, identified as a rodent, noted for prolific breeding, late 14c., rabet, "young of the coney," suspected to be from Walloon robète or a similar northern French dialect word, a diminutive of Flemish or Middle Dutch robbe "rabbit," which are of unknown origin
deer
Old English deor "wild animal, beast, any wild quadruped," in early Middle English also used of ants and fish, from Proto-Germanic *deuzam, the general Germanic word for "animal" (as opposed to man), but often restricted to "wild animal" (source also of Old Frisian diar, Dutch di
rede
"counsel, advice," Old English ræd "advice, counsel," from Proto-Germanic *redin (source also of Old Saxon rad "advice, counsel, help, advantage," Old Frisian red "council, advice," Dutch raad "advice, counsel," German Rat "advice, counsel," Old Norse rað "advice, consideration,
reed
"tall, broad-leafed grass growing on the margins of streams or in other wet places," Middle English rēd, rede, from Old English hreod "reed, rush," from Proto-Germanic *kreut- "reed" (source also of Old Saxon hraid, Old Frisian hriad, Middle Dutch ried, Dutch riet, Old High Germa
tail
[hindmost part of an animal] Old English tægl, tægel "posterior extremity," from Proto-Germanic *tagla- (source also of Old High German zagal, German Zagel "tail," dialectal German Zagel "penis," Old Norse tagl "horse's tail," Gothic tagl "hair"), according to Watkins from PIE *d
coney
also cony, "rabbit," c. 1200, abstracted from Anglo-French conis, Old French coniz, plurals of conil "long-eared rabbit" (Lepus cunicula) from Latin cuniculus (source of Spanish conejo, Portuguese coelho, Italian coniglio), the small, Spanish variant of the Italian hare (Latin le
apocalypse
late 14c., "revelation, disclosure," from Church Latin apocalypsis "revelation," from Greek apokalyptein "uncover, disclose, reveal," from apo "off, away from" (see apo-) + kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"). The Christian end-of-the
abstract
late 14c., originally in grammar (in reference to nouns that do not name concrete things), from Latin abstractus "drawn away," past participle of abstrahere "to drag away, detach, pull away, divert," also used figuratively; from assimilated form of ab "off, away from" (see ab-) +
honky
also honkey, derogatory word for "white person," by 1967, African-American vernacular, of unknown origin, perhaps from late 19c. hunky "East-Central European immigrant," which probably is a colloquial shortening of Hungarian (compare hunk (n.2)). Honky in the sense of "factory ha

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