| 释义 |
▪ I. † scout, n.1 Obs. exc. dial.
Also 4 scowte.
[a. ON. skúte (in Icel. ‘cave formed by jutting rocks’, Vigf.); cf. skúta to jut out, cogn. with skióta to shoot v.]
A high overhanging rock.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2167 Þe skwez of þe scowtes skayued hym þoȝt. 1781Hutton Tour to Caves (ed. 2) 94 Gloss., Scout, an high rock. 1869in Lonsdale Gloss.
▪ II. scout, n.2 Obs. exc. Sc.
Forms: 4 scoute, 5 skowte, scowte, 5, 9 Sc. scout, 9 Sc. scoot.
[? cogn. w. scout v.2]
A term of contempt applied both to men and women.
c1380Sir Ferumb. 2285 Roland cryede an heȝ ‘mountioye’ wan he be-huld þay scoute. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 2218 The godman..callyd hys wyf foule scout. c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 217 Come forthe, thou stotte! com forthe, thou scowte! c1485Digby Myst. (1882) i. 313 Avaunt, ye skowtys [addressed to women], I defye you euery-chone. 1822Galt Sir A. Wylie l, ‘Base scoot!’ exclaimed Andrew,..‘what puts such a thought into your head?’ 1825Jamieson, Scoot, Scout, a term of the greatest contumely, applied to a woman; as equivalent to trull, or camp-trull. 1869R. Leighton Scotch Words, etc. 18 The learned, pious, yet unworthy skoot, Neglects his sacred trust to catch a troot!
▪ III. scout, n.3|skaʊt|
Forms: 5 scowte, 5–7 skowt, 5–8 scowt, 5, 9 scut, 6 skut, 6–8 scute, 7 scaut, schut, skeut, 7, 9 skute, 5, 8–9 schout, 9 scoot, 7– scout.
[a. MDu. schûte (mod.Du. schuit: see schuit) = ON. skúta (Sw. skuta, Da. skude). Cf. shout n.]
A flat-bottomed boat; ‘a Dutch vessel, galliot rigged, used in the river trade of Holland’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867).
‘A boat called skoute,’ app. Flemish, is mentioned in Close Roll 20 Edw. II (Latin; 26 Sept. 1326).
1419Liber Albus (Rolls) 239 Item, de qualibet scut descendente in dicta Ripa [i.e. Queen-Hythe], cum busca sive blado, capiendus est i denier. 1436in Exch. Rolls Scot. IV. 679 Pro naulo barce vocate scowte. 1497Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 382 Item to ane scowt that baid apone the King, and landit his folk and hed thaim on burd. 1550Bale Image Both Ch. xviii. B b vj, All they that occupye boates, wheries, and scutes, or sayle vpon the sea. 1582Stanyhurst æneis, etc. (Arb.) 136 Where skut's forth launched. a1609A. Hume Day Estivall 32 The Salmon out of cruifs and creils Up hailed into skowts. 1617Moryson Itin. i. iv. 42 We went in a skeut by water..one mile to Dockam. 1700T. Brown Acc. Journ. Exon. Wks. 1709 III. ii. 101 Had I been travilling in a Dutch Scout, or a Gravesend Tilt-Boat, I could not have been treated with less Manners. 1769De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. (ed. 7) II. 157 Hoys, Bilanders and Schouts,..vessels peculiar to their inland and coasting Navigation. 1827Linc. & Lincolnsh. Cabinet 18 The Witham..covered with..a portable kind of boats called schouts. 1893Stevenson Catriona xxii. 261 Ye can get a passage down the Maes in a sailing scoot.
attrib.1493Halyburton's Ledger (1867) 34 Item to the schout man ilk pip 4 gs. Ibid. 37 Item for schout hir, toyll, and pynor fe, 12 gs.
b. A vessel more or less similar used in warfare. Cf. scout n.4 5.
1703Lond. Gaz. No. 3950/4 A Scout, of an unknown Name, taken by the Chester. 1799Capt. Winthrop in Naval Chron. II. 343 Lieutenant Searle..commanded a schoot converted into a gun-boat.
▪ IV. scout, n.4|skaʊt|
Forms: 6 scoult, skowlt, scowte, 6–7 scoute, skout, 7 scowt, skowt, 6– scout.
[a. OF. escoute fem., action of listening, concr. listener, scout, vbl. noun from escouter to listen = Pr. escoltar, Sp. escuchar, Pg. escutar, It. ascoltar:—L. auscultāre.
The compound scout-watch appears in our quots. much earlier than the simple word.]
1. The action of spying out or watching in order to gain information; chiefly in the phrases on or in (the) scout, to the scout. Also, an instance of this; a scouting or reconnoitring expedition. Also scout-round.
1553Brende Q. Curtius H vij, But those yt discovered for the Percians, were but a .M. horsemen, whiche kepynge the scoute a farre of, semed to the Macedons to be a great army. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1980/2 The order of their march was this,..the light horsemen..tended to the skout a mile or two before. 1618Bolton Florus i. xvii. (1636) 50 None of these things hindered the Generall from sending his brother in scowt, to discover the pase. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 199 There are Malabar Barks commonly upon the scout, especially in the evening, skulking behind some Points of Land. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 203, I set my self upon the Scout as often as possible. 1775P. Schuyler in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 29 Capt. Baker..without my leave, went upon a scout and..was shot. 1788Cowper Mrs. Throckmorton's Bulfinch 34 A beast forth-sallied on the scout, Long-back'd, long-tail'd, with whisker'd snout. 1864T. Seaton From Cadet to Colonel xviii. 373, I thought it advisable to send Hodson on scout to Bilram. 1892Bierce In the Midst of Life 23 The commander asked him if in his scout he had learned anything of advantage to the expedition. 1906‘Mark Twain’ in Harper's Mag. Aug. 328/2 We are back at Fort Paxton once more, after a forty-day scout. 1975P. Dickinson Lively Dead xxii. 137 They'd enough reason to send a bloke to do a preliminary scout round. 1978F. Branston Sergeant Ritchie's Conscience i. 12 ‘Organized a scout-round for the weapon?’ ‘Only in the immediate area.’ 1980A. Price Hour of Donkey iv. 55 Wimpy's scout through the wood must..be..completed... Bastable contented himself with cautious peering round each blind bend.
2. a. Mil. One sent out ahead of the main force in order to reconnoitre the position and movements of the enemy. Hence occas. in wider sense: One sent out to obtain information.
1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 91 He fownde two scoutes of his ennemyes. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. ii. 10 What tidings send our Scouts? 1644Symonds Diary (Camden) 7 Some bodyes of theire horse and many of their scoutes appeared on the hill. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 529 Others from the dawning Hills Lookd round, and Scouts each Coast light⁓armed scoure, Each quarter, to descrie the distant foe. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 346 While they lay here..expecting the return of their Scouts, they used what diligence they could in getting provisions. 1816Scott Antiq. iii, Davy Wilson..was the very prince of scouts for searching blind alleys, cellars, and stalls, for rare volumes. 1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville III. 53 The captain, therefore, continued to maintain the most vigilant precautions; throwing out scouts in the advance, and on every rising ground. 1869Browning Ring & Bk. xii. 724 This foul-mouthed friar shall find His Noah's-dove that brought the olive back, Is turned into the other sooty scout, The raven. 1896R. S. S. Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign iv, Without special training a man cannot have a thorough confidence in himself as a scout.
†b. fig. and in fig. context. Obs.
1598Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 630 The Ears..The bodie's Scouts. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 889 In this sea we may see many Ilands which Nature hath seemed to set,..as skowts to espie, and as Garrisons to defend their soueraigne, Earth. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Search v, I sent a sigh to seek thee out,..Wing'd like an arrow: but my scout Returns in vain. 1659W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. iv. (1820) II. 65 Had not the wise endeavours of her maid..grief's pale scouts betrayed, By sly deceit.
c. Boy Scout (also with lower-case initials): a member of an organization (first established in 1908 by Gen. Baden-Powell) consisting of boys who meet periodically to practise exercises and to undergo training in the duties belonging to a scout; now, a member of the Scout Association, or one of its associate, or parallel, organizations whose ideals of good citizenship and a healthy active life are promoted at regular meetings of scout groups in Great Britain, the British Commonwealth, the United States, and elsewhere throughout the world. Various specialized divisions of the movement are distinguished, as cub scout, sea scout s.v. sea n. 23 a, Venture Scout s.v. venture n., etc.
The term ‘Boy’ has now been officially omitted from the title of the organization in the U.K., U.S., and elsewhere. Girl Scout has been the official name for the U.S. equivalent to the Girl Guide since 1912: see guide n. 2 d.
[1908R. S. S. Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys 3 We had an example of how useful Boy Scouts can be on active service, when a corps of boys was formed in the defence of Mafeking.] 1908Scout 18 Apr. 1 Although the Boy Scouts have only been set going within the last two months, they are rapidly increasing all over the country. 1909Daily Mail 6 Sept., The following message from the King was read at Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell's review of the Boy Scouts at the Crystal Palace on Saturday... ‘The King is glad to know that the Boy Scouts are holding their first annual parade. Please assure the boys that [etc.]’. 1909B. W. Henderson in Times 21 Sept., At Oxford we have seen the number of Boy Scouts rise from 30 to 300 in nine months, and there are no scouts, I believe, outside the organization. 1910‘Scoutmaster’ Boy Scout i. 1 General Sir Robert S. Baden-Powell, the founder of the Movement, recognised this when he first propounded his scheme for boy scouts... The Movement was started less than three years ago. 1924‘A. D. Sedgwick’ Little French Girl i. v. 39 Alix heard of a Women's Institute, of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. 1959Listener 27 Aug. 304/1 There's something of the boy scout about M. Debré. 1978Broadcast 27 Mar. 20/3 We wish that..people would stop calling us ‘Boy’ Scouts. Ten years ago we adopted the title, ‘Scouts’, in a process of updating our appeal to young people.
(b) fig. and transf., freq. with reference to the honesty, preparedness, or supposed inexperience of a (Boy) Scout (see quots.).
1918I. S. Cobb Glory of Coming p. xiii, The Poilus called our soldiers ‘Boy Scouts’ and spoke of our effort as ‘The Second Children's Crusade’. 1929F. A. Pottle Stretchers 60 The noncoms (who for weeks had been calling us ‘Boy Scouts’) hung a blue ribbon on the bulletin board. 1945L. Shelly Jive Talk Dict. 22 Boy scout, an immature male. 1962Amer. Speech XXXVII. 267 Boy scout,..a traffic policeman who spends much of his time in helping motorists with flat tires, stalled cars, empty gas tanks, and so on. 1965A. Nicol Truly Married Woman 84 Bandele had said, threateningly, that he had better not mention his name, but he could go and be a Boy Scout on his own. 1969Sunday Mirror (Sydney) 13 Apr. 9/4 The accused officer has always been known as a ‘boy scout’—a policeman who goes strictly by the book. 1977J. I. M. Stewart Madonna of Astrolabe iii. 57 It was Mark's idea. Mark's absolutely the Boy Scout.
(c) attrib. and Comb.
1909Daily Chron. 9 July 8/2 The youth of the three kingdoms of the boy scout movement. 1914W. Owen Let. 1 June (1967) 257 Certain of my Boy-Scout acquaintance. 1936W. R. F. Collis Silver Fleece v. xvi. 266 Above all he hated..the ‘boy scout’ mentality, the modern tendency to march about in mobs, wearing coloured shirts, shouting, and beating up anybody who doesn't shout with you. 1950‘E. Crispin’ Frequent Hearses iv. 198 ‘What about the knife?’ ‘An oversized boy-scout affair..ground razor⁓sharp.’ 1967J. Porter Chinks in Curtain v. 53 All right, chum, and what would you have done? Given the Boy Scout salute? 1978S. Brill Teamsters ii. 43 His father was a teetotaler, a boy-scout husband who came home every night.
(d) Hence Boy Scoutery, Scoutism, the activity or attitude of a Boy Scout; also fig.; Boy Scoutish adj., characteristic of a Boy Scout. (Freq. with pejorative connotations.)
1937Wyndham Lewis Blasting & Bombardiering v. ii. 254 He never got us under canvas it is true—we were not the most promising material for Ezra's boyscoutery. 1938‘G. Orwell’ Homage to Catalonia iv. 49 We and they used to make daylight patrols there. It was not bad fun in a Boy Scoutish way. 1942Wyndham Lewis Let. (1963) 325 A curiously beastly case of boyscoutism, of arrested development or cretinism. 1962L. Deighton Ipcress File xiv. 84 Calling me ‘boy-scoutish’ which he knew would hit me where it hurt. 1963J. Vaizey Educ. in Class Society 6 These and other [travel and cultural] schemes..would..tend to counterbalance people's enthusiasm for the Boy Scoutism of the Duke of Edinburgh's award. 1967E. Grierson Crime of One's Own xi. 96 You must be mad... You've had that look about you ever since you started this boy-scoutery.
d. A bee searching for a new site for a swarm to settle or a new source of food.
1835Penny Cycl. IV. 153/1 It is said that bees send out scouts before leaving the hive, to search for a convenient situation for their new abode. 1909S. L. Bensusan Children's Story of Bee vii. 108 The scouts..might have been seen following their aërial roads to where the swarm was stationed. Ibid. 110 The last of the old queen's scouts had come bringing news of a hive—clean, sweet-scented and empty—in a garden across the valley. 1954D. Ilse tr. von Frisch's Dancing Bees v. 28 While the main swarm hangs from a branch in quiet idleness, its ‘scouts’ are busily at work, searching in all directions to find a suitable abode.
e. One sent out by an organization (as a sports club, recording company, etc.) to look for suitably talented persons with a view to their employment by that organization; a talent scout.
1905Sporting Life 2 Sept. 25/4 Padden..is the official scout of the St. Louis Club. 1926Whiteman & McBride Jazz iii. 65 Vaudeville scouts approached us. Our pictures were in the papers. 1948Sporting Mirror 19 Nov. 2/2 As chief scout for Derby County he will make sure that no young Midlander with real talent fails to get a chance to develop his soccer. 1952A. Lomax Mister Jelly Roll 291 ‘Fritz Pollard’ introduced me to..Williams who was then a scout for the Paramount Recording Company. 1968Blues Unlimited Sept. 15 They had their scouts out looking for anyone who could make records. 1976E. Dunphy Only a Game? iii. 92 He was being watched by Manchester City. Their scout left before the end.
f. An official of the A.A. or R.A.C. employed to assist motorists on the road. (No longer in use.)
1909Q. Rev. Jan. 143 The scouts have, beyond doubt, done a great deal to check reckless driving. 1929E. Linklater Poet's Pub xviii. 200 They passed a scout of the Automobile Association. ‘You should have returned that A.A. man's salute.’
g. slang. A fellow, chap, person. Freq. in approbatory use, as good scout, etc., and as an affectionate term of address.
1912M. Nicholson Hoosier Chron. 129 Dad's a good old scout and he's pretty sure to do it. 1921Wodehouse Indiscretions of Archie vii. 61 You'll never be lonely with Peter around. He's a great scout. Always merry and bright. 1922J. A. Dunn Man Trap xii. 168 You didn't tell me your name, old scout. 1933E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! (1934) iii. i. 96 Nat Miller's a good scout. 1950A. Wilson Such Darling Dodos 198 She had only two roles with men—tomboy and good scout. 1953‘N. Blake’ Dreadful Hollow 112 ‘It's time I sent him a report.’ ‘Pop? No need, old scout.’ 1965‘J. le Carré’ Looking-Glass War iv. 38 I've got nothing against old Adrian. He's a good scout.
3. A body of men sent out to gain information. Now only U.S.
1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 1198/2 The English scout, being thirtie good harquebutters, were set upon by the enemies. a1619Beaum. & Fl. Knt. of Malta iv. ii, Mount. What were those past by? Roc. Some scout of Souldiers, I think. 1716B. Church Hist. Philip's War (1867) II. 57 He immediately sent away a Scout of 60 Men. 1775L. Brown in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 462 Being informed..that two scouts, of fifty men each, were sent out often. 1798I. Allen Hist. Vermont 92 He sent a scout of about 300, mostly Indians, to hunt at the mouth of Otter Creek. 1867J. N. Edwards Shelby & his Men xxiii. 412 At Current river a scout of fifty were encountered. 1940W. Faulkner Hamlet ii. i. 127 A scout of two or three would lurk about the Varner fence.
4. a. One who keeps watch upon the actions of another; a watchman. † Formerly often in opprobrious sense: A mean spy, a ‘sneak’: cf. scout n.2 Also spec.: in oil-drilling operations, one employed by a company to keep watch on the activities of other companies; in Sport, one employed to observe and report on the performance of rival teams or clubs. Also, † a policeman.
1584A. Munday Fidele & Fortunio 465 in Arch. Stud. neu. Spr. CXXIII. 57 As close as I can, in this place I wil stand, Unseen vnto any, yet vewing of all: A prety scowte to take a knaue in a pit-fall. 1596Bacon Max. & Use Com. Law ii. (1635) 4 These constables should keepe watch about the towne for the apprehension of rogues and vagabonds, and night-walkers, and eves-droppers, scouts, and such like. 1691Mountfort Greenwich Park v. ii. 54, I suppose the Spark was come, for one of her Scouts came and whisper'd her. 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. xv, For though I be a poor cobler's son I am no scout. 1789[see horny n. 2]. 1809Malkin Gil Blas iv. xi. ⁋7 Lamela performed the office of a scout. 1821P. Egan Life in London ii. iii. 231 Turning the corner of Old Bedlam, A scout laid me flat upon my face. 1838Dickens O. Twist III. xlvi. 213 They'll have him yet, for the scouts are out, and by to-morrow night there'll be a cry all through the country. 1883Century Mag. July 327/2 The leading oil brokers of Bradford and Oil City employed scouts to watch it [the boring] after the hole had got down nearly to the depth where it was expected the oil-bearing sandstone would be reached. 1883Derrick's Handbk. Petroleum (1898) I. 357 Scouts have squatted on the Reed and Brenneman lease..and are keeping a vigilant watch on the well; efforts to dislodge the scouts have proved unavailing. 1904Dialect Notes II. 388 Scout,..a man sent to obtain information regarding a mystery. 1949Athletic Jrnl. Oct. 20/1 The scout should familiarize himself long before the season starts with the types of defense that have been used by opponents in the past. 1973C. Callow Power from Sea i. 14 The..oil industry employs men to keep tabs on the competition and has given them the euphemistic term of ‘scouts’. 1976M. Machlin Pipeline ii. 32 There had to be a scout on that plane.
b. slang. Used allusively for ‘watch’ = pocket timepiece.
1688Shadwell Sq. Alsatia ii. i. 23 Sirrah. Here's a Scout: What's a Clock? what's a Clock, Sirrah? a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Scout, a Watch. 1821D. Haggart Life (ed. 2) 28 Sporting an elegant dross-scout, drag, and chats... I succeeded in undubbing the stretch which slung the scout round her waist.
5. a. A type of war-vessel adapted for the purposes of reconnoitring. Cf. scout-ship, vessel; also scout n.3 b, which may have been confused with this.
1706Lond. Gaz. No. 4233/1 The Monk and Experiment Men of War,..put ashore near Cape de Gat a French Scout of 40 Guns. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Scouts, small vessels of war for especial service. 1896Daily News 20 Apr. 5/1 Many of our older scouts and commerce-protectors will show a higher rate of speed. 1902Westm. Gaz. 24 Oct. 6/2 The Admiralty have accepted the tenders of [certain shipbuilding firms]..for the construction by each firm of one vessel described as a ‘scout’. These scouts are a new departure in the Navy.
b. An airship or aeroplane used for reconnoitring; a lightly-armed fighter aeroplane. Also attrib.
1909A. Berget Conquest of Air ii. vii. 260 Airships or aeroplanes? As ‘combatants’ or ‘scouts’? 1914Daily Express 31 Dec. 3/4 We have ‘scouts’ which can beat anything the enemy can bring against us. 1916H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks Pl. xi, The little Gnome-engined scout biplanes. 1928E. Blunden Undertones of War viii. 82 On account of the aforementioned ceremonial parade, with the gleaming bayonets and accoutrements not unnoticed by German flying Scouts, the town was shelled by heavy guns on the day that we departed. 1942R.A.F. Jrnl. 2 May 1 Among the planes..is an approximately equal number of bombers, pursuit planes, and scouts. 1978H. Wouk War & Remembrance xxx. 304 The air raid proved to be only some old-type scout bombers buzzing a battleship of the screen and then running away from the Zeroes into the light clouds.
6.
†a. Cricket. = fieldsman a. Also in Baseball. Obs.
b. A boy who is employed to run after the balls at ‘practice’. (Cf. scout v.1 1 c.)
1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. 178 He was..nothing of a scout to John Simmons. 1837Dickens Pickw. vii, It fell upon the tip of the bat, and bounded far away over the heads of the scouts. 1851Lillywhite Guide to Cricketers 54 Mr. Dark engages..to attend on the Marylebone Club..six boys as scouts. 1856Spirit of Times 27 Dec. 276/3 One of these swiftly-delivered balls, when stopped by a skillful batsman, is sure to give the outmost scout employment. 1870Emerson Misc. Papers, Plutarch Wks. (Bohn) III. 347 They are like the baseball players, to whom the pitcher, the bat, the catcher, and the scout are equally important. 1898J. A. Gibbs Cotswold Village xi. 241 So also one may say..after the famous Gloucestershire hitter [sc. Grace] has made things merry for spectators and scouts alike. 1924N. Cardus Days in Sun 49 Supposing the fieldsmen were set..with still a number of them idle on the off-side, with great gaps between the leg-side scouts.
7. In pigeon-shooting: An outlying marksman set to prevent the escape of wounded birds.
1859‘Stonehenge’ Shot-gun i. ii. 9 But if a bird, so hard hit by the shooter that, in the opinion of the referee, it would have fallen within bounds, is shot at by a scout, the shooter may be allowed another bird.
8. attrib. and Comb., as scout boat, † scout canoe, scout-craft, scout hut, scout knife, scout-law, † scout-path, scout patrol, † scout-shallop, scout-ship, scout vessel; scout bee (sense 2 d); scout car, (a) U.S., a police patrol car; (b) Mil., a fast armoured vehicle used for reconnaissance and liaison; † scout-ken slang (see quot.); Scout Law, a code of conduct enjoined upon (Boy) Scouts; Scout's honour, the honour on which a (Boy) Scout promises to obey the Scout Law; freq. transf., as an expression of one's good faith.
1924A. M. Sturges Pract. Beekeeping 306/1 *Scout-bees. 1935J. C. Kenly Cities of Wax xvi. 165 A scout-bee..had just brought in news to her hive that she had discovered a honey gold-mine. 1963T. A. Sebeok in J. A. Fishman Readings Sociol. of Lang. (1968) 23 [M. Lindauer] traces how the scout bees announce the location of suitable nesting places by means of the dance in the cluster. 1975Country Life 20 Feb. 448/2 This swarm..was resting while scout bees looked for a suitable site.
1717in Statutes at Large S. Carolina (1838) III. 24 For the *scout boat on Port Royal Island, a Captain and six private men. 1862F. Moore Rebellion Record V. ii. 182 The scout-boats of Com. Montgomery notified him of the presence of the Federals. 1902Westm. Gaz. 16 July 7/3 Designs and tenders..for ten scout boats.
1798Col. Barrow in Naval Chron. (1799) I. 247, I sent out two *scout canoes.
1933Sun (Baltimore) 5 May 11/2 *Scout car No. 7..answered fifty-five calls in the Pimlico section of the Northern district. a1944K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) 40 A Daimler scout car, flying a red cross, was moving and halting,..collecting wounded. 1960R. M. Ogorkiewicz Armour xxxi. 434 A far more advanced Daimler scout car was also designed before the war, and the first built in December 1939. Ibid. 435 Originally the Daimler scout cars were intended for liaison within the tank regiments of the armoured divisions,..but after the 1940 campaign their use was extended, as was that of armoured cars. 1977H. Innes Big Footprints i. ii. 47 More craters. A burned-out scout car, some lorries gaping holes, then we were clear of the battlefield.
1908R. S. S. Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys 24 A scout's badge..is given him when he passes the tests in *scout-craft necessary to make him a scout. 1910Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 114/2 They are taught scout-craft, which includes the art of stalking wild creatures. 1937Sun (Baltimore) 2 July 6/1 Thousands of Boy Scouts gathered in a giant arena tonight to watch a pageant of scoutcraft and history. 1977N. Adam Triplehip Cracksman v. 54 Using my entirely non-existent knowledge of scoutcraft, I snuck up it in the closing shadows.
1974Times 10 Jan. 18/7 The *Scout huts in New Zealand. 1976L. Henderson Major Enquiry ix. 54 He got bored with working in the scout hut.
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., *Scout-ken, a watch-house.
1937E. Garnett Family from One End Street v. 99 Hadn't he wanted a *scout knife as long as he could remember. 1977J. Porter Who the Heck is Sylvia? xvi. 150 The kid..clipped his scout knife back on his scout belt.
1908R. S. S. Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys 49 The *Scout Law. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXX. 487/2 The Scout Promise, to carry out, on his honour, as far as in him lies, the Scout Law, is the binding disciplinary force. 1931E. Waugh Remote People 134 A Somali boy presented himself for examination in scout law. 1972P. Black Biggest Aspidistra in World i. vi. 51 An establishment striving..to do its best according to the Scout Law, continued to pervade the spirit of Children's Hour.
1750in Temple & Sheldon Hist. Northfield, Mass. (1875) 378 About twelve or fifteen Indians Way-laid the *Scout-Path from Fort Dummer to Colerain.
1909Daily Chron. 21 Aug. 5/4 To direct and help those who were forming *scout patrols all over the world.
1704S. Sewall Diary 1 Apr. (1879) II. 98 Read Brother's Letter about a *Scout-Shallop.
1694Luttrell Brief Rel. III. 356 A *scout ship of theirs [the French] taken gives account that [etc.]. 1849Grote Hist. Greece ii. lviii. (1862) V. 166 They awaited the return of the three scout-ships from Egesta.
1908R. S. S. Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys 49 A *Scout's Honour is to be trusted. 1956‘E. McBain’ Cop Hater (1958) xx. 168 ‘Provided it's not for publication.’ ‘Scout's honour,’ Savage said. 1959[see Brownie1 2]. 1974A. Ross Bradford Business 175 ‘I'll try my best, Charlie,’ I said, ‘scout's honour.’
1869Daily News 13 July, The *scout vessels I have mentioned were necessary enough at first. 1902Westm. Gaz. 17 July 4/1 Tenders had been asked for a new ‘Scout’ vessel.
▸ Also with capital initial. A member of a youth organization (known in the United Kingdom as the Scout Association and in the United States as Boy Scouts of America) founded in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell, intended to develop character esp. by open-air activities, or of an American organization, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., corresponding to Girlguiding UK; a Boy Scout or Girl Scout. Also (in pl.): either of these organizations. Cf. Boy Scout n. 1, Girl Scout n.
In the United Kingdom, the Scout Association has admitted both boys and girls since 1990.
1908R. S. S. Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys i. 48 The scouts' motto is founded on my initials, it is: be prepared. 1910Daily Chron. 18 Apr. 1/7 It is much greater fun to wear the B.-P. hat of the scout than the neat ‘pill-box’ cap of the Church Lads' Brigade. 1935Amer. Girl July 51 (advt.) For the ‘teen-age’ scout there is the new two-piece uniform of green sanforized shirting material. 1958A. Sillitoe Loneliness Long Distance Runner 121, I wanted to get a better goz at the knot, because my pal was in the scouts, and would ask to know how it was done. 1967B. Cleary Mitch & Amy x. 201 All the girls had been Brownies before they flew up to Scouts. 2004Scouting Mag. Mar. 36/3 Tell them that you got so much out of your time as a Scout that you plan on putting something back into it.
▪ V. scout, n.5|skaʊt|
Forms: 6 scowt, 7 scoute, 7–9 skout, 9 (dial.) scoot, 8– scout.
[Of obscure origin: connexion with coot n.1 appears to be impossible.]
A local name for various sea-birds native to Great Britain; as the Guillemot (Alca troile), the Razor-bill (Alca torda), and the Puffin (Fratercula arctica). green scoot: a local name for the Green Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Graculus).
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 26 Ane certane kynd of fowle, in our mother toung named the Skout. 1635Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 98 Abundance of fowl breed here, solem-geese, storts, scoutes, and twenty several sorts of fowl. a1672Willughby Ornith. iii. iii. iv. (1676) 244 marg., Alia avis est quam Scoti circa insulam Bassam, & Northumbrici circa Fernas insulas Skout vocant. 1710Sibbald Hist. Fife & Kinross 45 The Fowls which most frequent the Bass are..the Scout, the Scarts [etc.]. 1805G. Barry Orkney Isl. 305 The Guillemote..here the skout, remains with us all the winter. 1852Macgillivray Brit. Birds V. 392 Phalacrocorax Graculus. The Green Cormorant... Green Scout. 1893–4Northumb. Gloss., Scoot, the guillemot, Uria troile. So-called near Spittal.
▪ VI. scout, n.6|skaʊt|
[Of unknown origin: identity with scout n.4 has been conjectured, but evidence is wanting.]
At Oxford (also at Yale and Harvard): A college servant.
Until recently, a male servant; but in the first quot. the word seems to be applied to a woman (unless ‘goody’ is peculiarly used).
1708Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 117 One shilling to goody Earl a Scout yt belongs to Oriel Colledge. 1750Student I. 55 My scout, indeed, is a very learned fellow. 1800Sporting Mag. XV. 85 Waked at eight o'clock by the scout, to tell me the bell was going for prayers. a1851Yale Lit. Mag. XI. 282 (Hall College Words), We had to send for his factotum or scout, an old black fellow. 1888Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere 52 The scout who intrusively asked him every morning what he would have for breakfast. 1935D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night v. 91 ‘The scouts are all women of excellent character, so far as I know,’ said the Bursar. 1972Oxford Times 26 May 1/3 Miss Bootes, who has been a scout at St. Hilda's College for 25 years, was presented with the teapot on Wednesday.
▪ VII. scout, v.1|skaʊt|
Also 4–6 skowt, 6 scoute, skoute, 6–7 scowt, 7 skout.
[f. scout n.4]
1. a. intr. To act as a scout, to play the spy; to travel about (in search of information).
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 483, & ho skyrmez vnder skwe & skowtez aboute, Tyl hit was nyȝe at þe naȝt & noe þen sechez. a1575Gascoigne Posies, Dan Barth. 108 Such was his hap..To watche and warde at euery time and tyde, Though foes were farre yet skowted he alwaye. 1590Sir R. Williams Brief Disc. War 31 Besides, they must skoute, discouer, with all dueties that belongs vnto an Armie. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 193 Scout mee for him at the corner of the Orchard like a bum-Baylie. 1644Symonds Diary (Camden) 7 We scouted beyond Cumner, and mett with some of them. 1756Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 257 If they are at greater distances, it is inconvenient for the soldiers to scout. 1826Scott Woodst. x, It will be necessary that I scout abroad a little. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 665 Keyes, who had been out scouting among his old comrades, arrived with news more ominous still. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped xx. 192 Keeping only one eye above the edge of our..shelter, [he] scouted all round the compass.
transf.1704Swift Mech. Operat. Spir. ii. Misc. (1711) 303 These are the Men who pretend to understand a Book, by scouting thro the Index.
b. To skulk, lie hid (as a spy) in concealment. Obs. exc. dial. (See E.D.D. s.v.)
1577Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 23 The little Conie loues to scoute, In Berries that are digged out. 1633Hart Diet of Diseased Introd. 3 Many of these supposed Physitians..lie skouting in corners of the famous Citie of London.
†2. = field v. 5. Obs.
1786County Mag. Nov. 171/3 One that can throw well, likewise scout, He for a long stroke must stand out. 1828[implied in scouting vbl. n.1 2]. 1887F. T. Havergal Hereford. Gloss. s.v., In Herefordshire cricket fields, to scout out = to field out. 1908Daily Chron. 14 Aug. 4/7 On many suburban cricket grounds, where the small boys of the neighbourhood gather to field (or scout, as they call it) for the members at the nets. 1928Observer 1 July 29/4 An arrangement by which Tate is required to rest from his bowling by scouting at deep square leg.
†3. trans. With adv., to scout round: to surround with a watch. Also in pass., to be followed about by spies. Obs.
1619Fletcher Bonduca v. ii, Take more men, And scout him round. 1671Wood Life (O.H.S.) II. 227, I must be a papist: and then, upon that account, I was scouted about.
4. To reconnoitre, to examine with a view to obtaining information.
1704Swift Batt. Bks. Misc. (1711) 260 One surveys the Region round, while the t'other scouts the Plain. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 23 The fox is loth to 'gin a long patrole, And scouts the woods, content with meaner prey. 1871Daily News 24 July, Bazaine has been condemned by every military authority in Europe for not scouting the ravine of Gorze. 1900Ibid. 25 May 7/2 Major Karri Davies, with eight men of the Light Horse, were ordered to scout the country.
Add:5. intr. and trans. To observe and report on the performance of a team or club against which one is due to play. Sport (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
1908[implied in scouting vbl. n.1 1 c]. 1941Sun (Baltimore) 8 Oct. 13/4 Coaches Charlie Erickson and Dick Jamerson who scouted Fordham in its 16–10 win over Southern Methodist. 1961[see scouting vbl. n.1 1 c]. 1980Hoy & Carter Tackle Basketball vii. 106 Firstly, well-prepared opponents may gain advance knowledge of their opposition's system by scouting and hearing the call, and so be in a position to thwart it. 1987First Base Summer 12/1 He will have scouted the batters he is to face thoroughly..will know who hits well and badly on the type of surface and time of day for that day's game.
6. orig. N. Amer.
a. trans. To observe (a team, a company, etc.) with a view to recruiting suitably talented persons to one's organization (esp. a sports club); to assess (an individual) with this purpose.
1936Esquire Sept. 159/2 ‘Jesse Laskey's Broadway Booneing’ means that the vet producer is scouting plays and talent in N.Y. 1972Hockey News (Montreal) 6 Oct. 11/2, I remember the late Stafford Smythe telling me to scout the bush-league teams..very carefully because the kids there were trying harder. 1977Rolling Stone 5 May 45/4 Still, no one seems to have scouted him; he was offered no athletic scholarships. 1981N.Y. Times 26 Oct. c2/2 Most of the pro teams have scouted him this season. Most of them look at him and say he's too small.
b. intr. To look for suitably talented persons with a view to recruiting them to one's organization; to act as a (talent) scout (see scout n.4 2 e).
1950Sport 7–11 Apr. 14/1 He was scouting for Birmingham City at the time of his appointment to manage his old club. 1971H. Seymour Baseball: Golden Age II. p. vi, I..scouted unofficially..for two major-league clubs. 1981Christian Science Monitor 22 Oct. 14/3 After retiring as a player in 1960 Lasorda scouted for the Dodgers for five years, managed in the minor league system for seven, and spent four seasons as a coach. 1989Washington Post 14 Sept. b6/1 All had either coached or scouted for Denver after their playing days.
▪ VIII. scout, v.2|skaʊt|
Forms: 7 scowt, skowt, 8– scout.
[Of Scandinavian origin: cf. ON. skúta, skúte n., a taunt, prob. f. root of skióta to shoot. Cf. ON. skútyrði, also skotyrði, abusive language.]
†1. trans. To mock at, deride. Also absol. Obs.
1605Marston Dutch Courtezan Prol., As for some few, we know of purpose here To taxe and scowt. 1610Shakes. Temp. iii. ii. 130 Flout 'em, and cout 'em: and skowt 'em, and flout 'em. 1691Wood Life (O.H.S.) III. 357 He scouted me and told of ‘virtue’ (for ‘vertue’) [i.e. that the former was bad spelling]. 1768Goldsm. Good-n. Man ii, When he speaks upon his legs, by the Lord he's prodigious, he scouts them.
2. To reject with scorn (a proposition); to treat as absurd (an idea); to dismiss scornfully the pretensions of (a person, a work, etc.).
1710Palmer Proverbs 102 They pass the rhodomontade till they're expos'd and scouted. 1711Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 133 Those who laugh at and scout it. 1782F. Burney Let. 6 Apr. (1891) I. 426 The people..who have been fond of blood and family, have all scouted title when put in any competition with it. 1819F. Hamilton Nepal 315 All alliances with the chief,..are scouted by the purer inhabitants of the southern mountains. 1822Hazlitt Table-t. Ser. ii. x. (1869) 212 Many great philosophers have not only been scouted while they were living, but forgotten as soon as they were dead. 1849Dickens Barn. Rudge xxxix, His turned-up nose..scouted all things of earth with deep disdain. 1872Q. Rev. Jan. 251 Simple and obvious remedies are scouted or neglected. 1883Mrs. R. Ritchie Bk. Sibyls i. 47 The poem..was scouted at the time and violently attacked. 1884Tennyson Becket ii. ii, I am glad that France hath scouted him at last. 1898Bodley France II. iii. v. 247 The King..scouted the idea of his functions being reduced to those of an English monarch.
▪ IX. scout, scoutchin
see scoot n.1, scutcheon. |