Wiktionary

scalp

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English scalp, skalp, scalpe (“crown of the head; skull”). Originally a northern word, and therefore probably from a North Germanic source, although the sense-development is unclear; compare Sylt North Frisian Skolp (“dandruff”), Old Norse skálpr (“sheath”), Old Swedish skalp, Dutch schelp (“shell”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /skælp/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ælp

Noun

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scalp (plural scalps)

  1. (now dialectal) The top of the head; the skull.
    Synonym: skull
  2. The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
    • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      By the bare scalpe of Robin Hoods fat Fryer, / This fellow were a King, for our wilde faction.
    • 2014, Kaitlin Newman, “Five years after beating, Ryan Diviney's family holds out hope”, in Baltimore Sun‎[1], archived from the original on 10 November 2014:
      The original titanium mesh plate that was inserted in the summer of 2010 was removed last June since it was causing his scalp to break down.
    1. (historical) A part of the skin of the head, with the hair attached, formerly cut or torn off from an enemy by warriors in some cultures as a token of victory.
      Some tribes used to collect scalps to prove how many of the enemy they had killed in battle.
    2. (heraldry) The skin of the head of a stag, to which the horns are attached.
      • 1899, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, Armorial Families: A Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, Showing which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority, page 313:
        He bears for Arms : Argent, on a chevron invected gules, between two bugle-horns sable, stringed of the second in chief, and the attires of a stag affixed to the scalp in base of the third, two fasces chevronways or.
  3. (figuratively) A victory, especially at the expense of someone else.
    • 1993, John Frohnmayer, Leaving Town Alive: Confessions of an Arts Warrior, page 331:
      Pat Buchanan, in his ongoing presidential quest, claimed his first scalp, and Donald Wildmon's newsletter chortled that his efforts in opposing the NEA had paid off.
    • 2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 46:28 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?‎[2], archived from the original on 19 August 2022:
      Admiral Lee, aboard USS Washington, can content himself with the fact that his ship has claimed the scalp, or helped claim the scalp, of three out of the four Kongō class, and has landed meaningful hits on Nagato and Yamato as well, making it the single most successful U.S. battleship in history.
    • 2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian‎[3]:
      Randy Waldrum’s Nigeria, ranked 40th in the world, 36 places below England, looked as if they would claim the latest big scalp and knock out the European champions after the eliminations of Brazil, Canada, Germany and the USA.
  4. (Scotland) A bed or stratum of shellfish.
    Synonym: scaup
  5. (figurative) The top; the summit.
    Synonym: summit

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Translations

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Verb

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scalp (third-person singular simple present scalps, present participle scalping, simple past and past participle scalped)

  1. To remove the scalp (part of the head from where the hair grows), by brutal act or accident.
    • 2001, Peter Cozzens, Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, 1865-1890: Conquering the Southern Plains, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 507:
      Next morning, the Indians attacked us and one of our hunters, George Huffman, was killed and scalped. As soon as Baldwin heard the shooting, he came to our assistance.
  2. (Canada, US, slang) To resell, especially tickets, usually for an inflated price, often illegally.
    Synonym: resell
    Tickets were being scalped for $300.
    • 2011, Linda E. Swayne, Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing, SAGE, →ISBN, page 324:
      Tickets sold online through Craigslist, eBay, and other forums, where the purchaser cannot physically see them, run a greater risk of being counterfeit—but counterfeiters have been known to scalp tickets in person outside the venue as well, […]
    • 2023 August 5, Ben Sisario, “How Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Conquered the World”, in New York Times‎[4]:
      Scalped tickets were going for $3,000 and up.
  3. (gambling) To bet on opposing competitors so as to make a profit from the bookmaker.
    • 1961, John Scarne, Complete Guide to Gambling, page 102:
      The only sure thing about scalping the Series today is that the scalper is paying the bookie a greater profit because he is making a greater number of bets.
  4. (finance) On an open outcry exchange trading floor, to buy and sell rapidly for one's own account, aiming to buy from a seller and a little later sell to a buyer, making a small profit from the difference (roughly the amount of the bid/offer spread, or less).
  5. To screen or sieve ore before further processing.
    Synonym: sieve
    scalped ore
  6. (surgery) To remove the skin of.
    • 1870, J. S. Wells, Treatise on the Diseases of the Eye:
      We must […] "scalp" the whole lid [of the eye].
  7. (transitive) To remove the grass from.
  8. (transitive) To destroy the political influence of.
  9. (milling) To brush the hairs or fuzz from (wheat grains, etc.) in the process of high milling.[1]

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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  • (financial depredation senses): haircut

References

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  1. ^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877) “Scalp”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. […], volumes III (REA–ZYM), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton […], →OCLC.

Anagrams

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English scalp.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /skɑlp/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: scalp

Noun

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scalp m (plural scalpen or scalps)

  1. scalp (hair-covered skin, especially as a trophy)

Derived terms

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French scalp.

Noun

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scalp n (plural scalpuri)

  1. scalp

Declension

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Declension of scalp
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) scalp scalpul (niște) scalpuri scalpurile
genitive/dative (unui) scalp scalpului (unor) scalpuri scalpurilor
vocative scalpule scalpurilor
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