scout
/ˈskaʊ̯t/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms scouts scouting scouted
- noun A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
- noun An act of scouting or reconnoitering.
- noun 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.
- noun A person who assesses or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team.
- noun A person employed to monitor rivals' activities in the petroleum industry.
- noun (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.
- noun (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.
- noun (UK, cricket) A fielder in a game for practice.
- verb (transitive, intransitive) To explore a wide terrain, as if on a search.
- verb (transitive) To observe, watch, or look for, as a scout; to follow for the purpose of observation, as a scout.
- verb (transitive) To reject with contempt. “to scout an idea or an apology”
- verb (transitive) To reject the ideas or beliefs of (a person).
- verb (intransitive) To scoff.
- noun (dated) A swift sailing boat.
- verb (Scotland) To pour forth a liquid forcibly, especially excrement; to cause a liquid to gush.
- noun The guillemot.
- noun A member of any of various scouting organizations.
- noun A member of one of several army units, such as the Selous Scouts or the Arunachal Scouts.
- proper noun A nickname, used for both genders.
Synonyms
espial espy survey reconnoiter lookout lookout man sentinel sentry watch spotter picket talent scout pathfinder guide reconnoitre
Etymology
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.
Of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse skúta, skúti (“taunt”), Middle English scoute (“a wretch, rascal, rogue”); thus may be related to English shout.
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”). Compare shout (“flat-bottomed boat”), schuit.
Uncertain. The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) groups the verb scout, scoot (/skut/, regionally /skʌut/) "cause liquid to gush" with a noun scout "sudden gush or flow of water, as from a spout or over rock", and considers the pair to be 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 have a different Norse origin, 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 (the DSL gives it as a separate word, with separate spellings scout, scowt, skout, pronounced /skut/, of uncertain origin), but it might derive from their habit of pouring forth excrement.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A swift sailing boat. [Obs.]
- noun A projecting rock. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
- verb To reject with contempt, as something absurd; to treat with ridicule; to flout; as, to scout an idea or an apology. "Flout 'em and scout 'em." Shak.
- noun A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information of the movements and condition of an enemy.
Etymology [Icel. sk a small craft or cutter.]
Etymology [Icel. skuta to jut out. Cf. Scout to reject.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “scout”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details