scuttle

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To deliberately sink one's ship or boat by any means, usually by order of the vessel's commander or owner.

   The Vichy French fleet in Toulon in 1942 scuttled itself as a final "fuck you" to the invading Germans.

2. 2
   verb

   To deliberately wreck one's vehicle (of any sort).

   The third and equally important fact is that at the time of gear retraction more than ample runway remained to brake to a successful stop and even had there been a fire in the left engine no necessity existed for scuttling the aircraft.

3. 3
   verb

   To undermine or thwart oneself or one's position or property, especially deliberately.

   The candidate had scuttled his chances with his unhinged outburst.

4. 4
   verb

   To move hastily, to scurry.

   With the first dawn of day, old Janet was scuttling about the house to wake the baron.

Simplified etymology

Scuttle has three distinct histories. The coal-container word meant “dish” in Old English and came through Old Norse from Latin scutella, “dish.” The verb meaning “move quickly” probably developed through dialect scuddle from scud, while the nautical noun “hatchway,” recorded in the late 15th century, may come through French from Spanish escotilla; its verb meaning “sink a ship” appeared in the mid-17th century.

Borrowed from Middle French escoutille (compare French écoutille), from Old Norse skaut (“corner of a cloth, of a sail”), or alternatively from Spanish escotilla, ultimately from Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍄𐍃 (skauts, “projecting edge, fringe”), from Proto-Germanic *skautaz (“corner; wedge; lap”). Compare German Schoß, Old English sċēat. More at sheet.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary