scuttle¹

[skuht-l] /ˈskʌt l/

noun

a deep bucket for carrying coal.

British Dialect. a broad, shallow basket.

Origin

before 1050; Middle English; Old English scutel dish, trencher, platter < Latin scutella, diminutive of scutra shallow pan

scuttle²

[skuht-l] /ˈskʌt l/

verb (used without object), scuttled, scuttling.

to run with quick, hasty steps; scurry.

noun

a quick pace.

a short, hurried run.

Origin

1400-50; late Middle English scottlynge (gerund), variant of scuddle, frequentative of scud¹

Synonyms

1. hasten, hurry, scamper, scramble.

scuttle³

[skuht-l] /ˈskʌt l/

noun

Nautical.

a small hatch or port in the deck, side, or bottom of a vessel.
a cover for this.

a small hatchlike opening in a roof or ceiling.

verb (used with object), scuttled, scuttling.

to sink (a vessel) deliberately by opening seacocks or making openings in the bottom.

to abandon, withdraw from, or cause to be abandoned or destroyed (as plans, hopes, rumors, etc.).

Origin

1490-1500; perhaps ≪ Spanish escotilla hatchway, equivalent to escot(e) a cutting of cloth (< Gothic skaut seam; akin to sheet¹) + -illa diminutive suffix

Examples from the web for scuttle

Yes, the stray graduate student who sees you at the supermarket will notice, and perhaps scuttle off to tell his or her cronies.
And many species of reptiles scuttle through the underbrush.
They maintain control so the hostages won't scuttle the ship.
But you would also be known as a troublemaker, which might scuttle your chances of getting another academic job, ever.
The other is that a costly and unpopular war could scuttle their domestic agenda.
These shifts can scuttle marriages, alienate family, sever ties with former lives.
Radar-equipped robots scuttle through these drug tunnels to hunt for dope haulers.
No detail was omitted, down to the lavatory-paper holder and the coal scuttle.
They drop their loads at its base and scuttle back down the mountain.
It's preprogrammed to scuttle around quickly on smooth surfaces and slow down when traversing carpet.

British Dictionary definitions for scuttle

scuttle¹

/ˈskʌtəl/

noun

See coal scuttle

(dialect, mainly Brit) a shallow basket, esp for carrying vegetables

the part of a motor-car body lying immediately behind the bonnet

Word Origin

Old English scutel trencher, from Latin scutella bowl, diminutive of scutra platter; related to Old Norse skutill, Old High German scuzzila, perhaps to Latin scūtum shield

scuttle²

/ˈskʌtəl/

verb

(intransitive) to run or move about with short hasty steps

noun

a hurried pace or run

Word Origin

C15: perhaps from scud, influenced by shuttle

scuttle³

/ˈskʌtəl/

verb

(transitive) (nautical) to cause (a vessel) to sink by opening the seacocks or making holes in the bottom

(transitive) to give up (hopes, plans, etc)

noun

(nautical) a small hatch or its cover

Word Origin

C15 (n): via Old French from Spanish escotilla a small opening, from escote opening in a piece of cloth, from escotar to cut out

Word Origin and History for scuttle

"bucket," late Old English scutel "dish, platter," from Latin scutella "serving platter" (source also of French écuelle, Spanish escudilla, Italian scudella "a plate, bowl"), diminutive of scutra "flat tray, dish," perhaps related to scutum "shield" (see hide (n.1)).

A common Germanic borrowing from Latin (cf. Old Norse skutill, Middle Dutch schotel, Old High German scuzzila, German Schüssel "a dish"). Meaning "basket for sifting grain" is attested from mid-14c.; sense of "bucket for holding coal" first recorded 1849.

"scamper, scurry," mid-15c., probably related to scud (v.). Related: Scuttled; scuttling.

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
[T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"]

"cut a hole in a ship to sink it," 1640s, from skottell (n.) "opening in a ship's deck" (late 15c.), from Middle French escoutille (Modern French écoutille) or directly from Spanish escotilla "hatchway," diminutive of escota "opening in a garment," from escotar "cut out," perhaps from e- "out" (see ex-) + Germanic *skaut-. Figurative use is recorded from 1888. Related: Scuttled; scuttling.