scaffold
/ˈskafəʊld
/ /ˈskaf(ə)ld/noun
1A raised wooden platform used formerly for the public execution of criminals.They were all angling for a better view of a simple wooden scaffold bearing a lone noose, which dangled in the breeze....
- But whether displayed on a public scaffold in the eighteenth century, or the result of a scientific killing within the confines of a modern prison, the body of the executed criminal remains a vivid and striking symbol of the power of the law.
- He was dangling from a hook, a few feet off a wooden scaffold.
2A structure made using scaffolding: [as modifier]: scaffold boards...
- Then we hit on friends and neighbors to contribute toe board brackets, toe boards, scaffolds, ladders and moral support.
- When setting a plank between ladders as a scaffold, be sure it extends a foot on each side and is clamped or nailed to its support
- Working on roofs, high scaffolds, lift equipment or other areas where you're elevated well above ground level presents an ever-present hazard for professional and homeowner alike.
verb [with object]
Attach scaffolding to (a building): (as adjective scaffolded) the soot-black scaffolded structure...
- About 60% of the building was scaffolded at one time.
- A senior council official said: ‘When we scaffolded it, it gave the inspector a closer examination of the stone and he was horrified to see bits coming off in his hand.’
- The tower will be scaffolded throughout and the clock faces will be removed for refurbishment, re-glazing and re-gilding at the end of August.
Derivatives
scaffolder
/ noun they’re having some restoration done and the scaffolders were there from early morning...
- In some cases insurers have closed ranks and blacklisted entire sectors - scaffolders, demolition firms and roofing companies, for example, are finding it virtually impossible to renew cover at any price.
- However now we have got the scaffolding up it seems sensible and more economical to do all the work at once rather than pay builders and scaffolders again next year and the year after.
- Quite often, when there is an event in London, a contract may ask scaffolders to take work down and put it back up after the event, but we have not heard of anything like this before.
Origin
Middle English (denoting a temporary platform from which to repair or erect a building): from Anglo-Norman French, from Old French (e)schaffaut, from the base of catafalque.