a piece of sawn timber, such as a rafter, that has a small cross section
2.
the dimensions of a piece of building material or the structural parts of a ship, esp those in cross section
3.
a building stone, esp one that is more than 6 feet in length
4.
a small quantity or amount
Word origin
C16: changed (through influence of scant and -ling1) from earlier scantillon, a carpenter's gauge, from Old Norman French escantillon, ultimately from Latin scandere to climb; see scan
scantling in American English
(ˈskæntlɪŋ)
noun
1.
a small quantity or amount
2.
dimensions of building material
3.
a small beam or timber, esp. one of small cross section, as a two-by-four
4.
a small, upright timber, as in the frame of a structure
Word origin
altered (as if < scant + -ling1) < ME scantilone, a carpenter's gauge, aphetic < NormFr escantillon, for OFr eschandillon, a measure < Prov escandil, a measure of volume < VL *scandaculum, ladder, plumb < scandere: see descend