Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- transitive v. To spy on or explore carefully in order to obtain information; reconnoiter.
- transitive v. To observe and evaluate (a talented person), as for possible hiring.
- intransitive v. To search as a scout: scout around for some gossip.
- intransitive v. To search for talented people: scouts for a professional basketball team.
- n. One that is dispatched from a main body to gather information, especially in preparation for military action.
- n. The act of reconnoitering.
- n. A watcher or sentinel.
- n. One who is employed to discover and recruit talented persons, especially in the fields of sports and entertainment.
- n. Sports One who is employed to observe and report on the strategies and players of rival teams.
- n. A member of the Boy Scouts.
- n. A member of the Girl Scouts.
- n. Informal An individual; a person: a good scout.
- n. Chiefly British A student's male servant at Oxford University.
- transitive v. To reject with disdain or derision. See Synonyms at despise.
- intransitive v. To treat another with derision; scoff.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
- n. An act of scouting or reconnoitering.
- n. 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.
- n. A person who assesses and/or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team.
- n. A college student's or undergraduate's servant; -- so called in Oxford, England; at Cambridge called a gyp; and at Dublin, a skip.
- n. A fielder in a game for practice.
- n. A term used until 1920's of a fighter aircraft.
- v. To explore a wide terrain, as on a search.
- v. To reject with contempt.
- v. To scoff.
- n. A swift sailing boat.
- n. A projecting rock.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A swift sailing boat.
- n. A projecting rock.
- transitive v. To reject with contempt, as something absurd; to treat with ridicule; to flout.
- n. 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.
- n. A college student's or undergraduate's servant; -- so called in Oxford, England; at Cambridge called a gyp; and at Dublin, a skip.
- n. A fielder in a game for practice.
- n. The act of scouting or reconnoitering.
- n. A boy scout or girl scout (which see, above).
- transitive v. To observe, watch, or look for, as a scout; to follow for the purpose of observation, as a scout.
- transitive v. To pass over or through, as a scout; to reconnoiter.
- intransitive v. To go on the business of scouting, or watching the motions of an enemy; to act as a scout.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A person sent out to gain and bring in information; specifically, one employed to observe the motions and obtain intelligence of the numbers of an enemy.
- n. A scouting party.
- n. A spy; a sneak.
- n. A college servant or waiter.
- n. In cricket, a fielder.
- n. The act of looking out or watching; lookout; watch.
- n. One of various birds of the auk family (Alcidæ) which are common on the British islands, as the razor-billed auk, the common or foolish guillemot, and the puffin or sea-parrot.
- n. In the Netherlands, a bailiff or magistrate. See schout.
- To observe or explore as a scout; watch the movements of an enemy.
- To watch closely; observe the actions of; spy out.
- To range over for the purpose of discovery.
- To ridicule; sneer at; treat with disdain. and contempt; reject with scorn: as, to scout a proposal.
- n. A high rock.
- n. A swift Dutch sailing boat.
- To pour forth a liquid forcibly; eject liquid excrement.
- n. The guillemot.
- n. Naval, a vessel employed in obtaining information concerning the positions and numbers of the enemy's fleet. See also scout cruiser.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a Boy Scout or Girl Scout
- n. someone who can find paths through unexplored territory
- n. someone employed to discover and recruit talented persons (especially in the worlds of entertainment or sports)
- n. a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
- v. explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody
Etymologies
Examples
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After boot camp, the sergeant encouraged some of us tougher boys who could shoot a little to volunteer for what he called the scout/snipers.
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In some cases, an American 18-year-old boy scout is more capable than the Afghans, and 30 percent of the Afghan recruits do not pass or quit once they reach their unit in the combat zone
Jake Diliberto: Afghan Army: The Few, the Proud, the Unprepared
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TRY THIS ON Let your child do what ever you think is right around you or supervised in scout/and outdoor activities.
School Suspends Six-Year-Old Boy For Bringing Folding Silverware to Lunch
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As you scout from the vehicle, you get a chance to talk about gear, techniques, the animals, and different hunting experiences.
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"The advance scout is like a seventh coach," Showalter says.
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Showalter's own advance scout is a continent away.
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Part of being an area scout is trying to tell truth from fiction.
The NFL scout: Constantly on the prowl for the next big talent
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I hope you called your scout master to thank him for the first-aid lesson.
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The word scout had been retained, without translation, when the French adopted the Boy Scout movement from England, just as words like rosbif, football, and le sport had been adopted into the language.
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A scout is courteous; he is a friend of animals; he obeys orders, he smiles and whistles under all difficulties.
fbharjo commented on the word scout
Is a scout a 'shooter of words' in the metaphorest? (see entry from IE roots below)
skeud-
To shoot, chase, throw.
Derivatives include shoot, shut, and scuttle.1
shoot, from Old English scēotan, to shoot, from Germanic *skeutan, to shoot.
shot1, from Old English sceot, scot, shooting, a shot;
schuss, from Old High German scuz, shooting, a shot;
scot, scot and lot, from Old Norse skot and Old French escot, contribution, tax (< "money thrown down");
wainscot, from Middle Dutch sc(h)ot, crossbar, wooden partition. a-d all from Germanic *skutaz, shooting, shot.
shut, from Old English scyttan, to shut (by pushing a crossbar), probably from Germanic *skutjan.
shuttle, from Old English scytel, a dart, missile, from Germanic *skutilaz.
sheet2, from Old English scēata, corner of a sail;
sheet1, from Old English scēte, piece of cloth. Both a and b from Germanic *skautjōn‑.
scout2, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse skūta, mockery (< "shooting of words");
shout, from Old Norse skūta, a taunt. Both a and b from Germanic *skut‑.
Pokorny 2. (s)keud‑ 955.
- American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots
February 29, 2016
skipvia commented on the word scout
Tonto. See A Horse is a Horse
February 1, 2008