scalp

Meaning

Noun

1. (dialectal) The top of the head; the skull.
2. The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
3. (historical) The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
4. The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
5. (figuratively) A victory, especially at the expense of someone else.
6. (Scotland) A bed or stratum of shellfish.
7. (figuratively) The top; the summit.

Verb

1. To remove the scalp (part of the head from where the hair grows), by brutal act or accident.
2. (Canada, US, slang) To resell, especially tickets, usually for an inflated price, often illegally.
3. To bet on opposing competitors so as to make a profit from the bookmaker.
4. 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.
6. To remove the skin of.
7. (transitive) To remove the grass from.
8. (transitive) To destroy the political influence of.
9. To brush the hairs or fuzz from (wheat grains, etc.) in the process of high milling.

Synonyms

criticize severely

scarify

flay

head

lawn

peel

peeling

roast

apex

skinned

sod

summit

tomahawk

top

🔝

tout

epicranium

Translations

cuir chevelu

Kopfhaut

scalpo

Skalp

cuero cabelludo

scalper

scalp

escalpelar

couro cabeludo

scotennare

skalpieren

cuir cabellut

escalpo

cranio

💀

kruin

Pronounced as (IPA)

/skælp/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: scalp

Cognate with Northern Frisian: Skolp

Cognate with Old Norse: skálpr

Cognate with Dutch: schelp

In summary

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”).