scab

[skab] /skæb/
noun
1.
the incrustation that forms over a sore or wound during healing.
2.
Veterinary Pathology. a mangy disease in animals, especially sheep; scabies.
Compare itch (def 10).
3.
Plant Pathology.
  1. a disease of plants characterized by crustlike lesions on the affected parts and caused by a fungus or bacterium.
  2. one of these crustlike lesions.
4.
a worker who refuses to join a labor union or to participate in a union strike, who takes a striking worker's place on the job, or the like.
5.
Slang. a rascal or scoundrel.
6.
Metallurgy.
  1. a projection or roughness on an ingot or casting from a defective mold.
  2. a surface defect on an iron or steel piece resulting from the rolling in of scale.
7.
Carpentry. a short, flat piece of wood used for various purposes, as binding two timbers butted together or strengthening a timber at a weak spot.
verb (used without object), scabbed, scabbing.
8.
to become covered with a scab.
9.
to act or work as a scab.
Origin
1200-50; 1800-10 for def 4; Middle English < Old Norse skabb scab, itch; cf. shabby, shave
Related forms
scablike, adjective
Examples from the web for scab
  • Under the scab, epidermal cells are migrating into the wound to close it up.
  • Occasionally, the scab on the surgical wound loosens, causing a sudden appearance of blood in the urine that can be alarming.
  • At a later office visit, her doctor found a silver-dollar-size patch of scalp where skin had been replaced by scab.
  • The scab of the old wound will be torn off, and the media and the general public will go nuts all over again.
  • Disease severity for primary scab will be determined simultaneously on the same leaves by visual estimation of diseased leaf area.
British Dictionary definitions for scab

scab

/skæb/
noun
1.
the dried crusty surface of a healing skin wound or sore
2.
a contagious disease of sheep, a form of mange, caused by a mite (Psoroptes communis)
3.
a fungal disease of plants characterized by crusty spots on the fruits, leaves, etc
4.
(derogatory)
  1. Also called blackleg. a person who refuses to support a trade union's actions, esp one who replaces a worker who is on strike
  2. (as modifier): scab labour
5.
a despicable person
verb (intransitive) scabs, scabbing, scabbed
6.
to become covered with a scab
7.
(of a road surface) to become loose so that potholes develop
8.
to replace a striking worker
Derived Forms
scablike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English sceabb; related to Old Norse skabb, Latin scabiēs, Middle Low German schabbe scoundrel, German schäbigshabby
Word Origin and History for scab
n.

mid-13c., "skin disease," developed from Old English sceabb "scab, itch" (related to scafan "to shave, scrape, scratch") and from Old Norse skabb "scab, itch," both from Proto-Germanic *skab- "scratch, shave," from PIE *(s)kep- "to cut, scrape, hack" (see scabies). Sense reinforced by cognate Latin scabies "scab, itch, mange" (from scabere "to scratch").

Meaning "crust which forms over a wound or sore" is first attested c.1400. Meaning "strikebreaker" first recorded 1806, from earlier sense of "person who refuses to join a trade union" (1777), probably from meaning "despicable person" (1580s), possibly borrowed in this sense from Middle Dutch.

scab in Medicine

scab (skāb)
n.

  1. A crust formed from and covering a healing wound.

  2. Scabies or mange in domestic animals or livestock, especially sheep.

v. scabbed, scab·bing, scabs
To become covered with scabs or a scab.
scab in Science
scab
  (skāb)   
A crust that forms over a healing wound, consisting of dried blood, plasma, and other secretions.
scab in Culture

scab definition


Informally, a worker who stays on the job while others go on strike. Also, a worker brought in to keep a plant operating when its work force is on strike. (See strikebreaker.)

Slang definitions & phrases for scab

scab

noun

A nonunion worker, esp one who attempts to break a strike; fink (1777+)