scout

name

1. A nickname, used for both genders.

noun

Etymology: Uncertain. The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) groups the verb scout, scoot (/skut/, regionally /skʌut/) "cause liquid to gush" with a noun scout "sudden gush or flow of water, as from a spout or over rock", and considers the pair to be of Scandinavian origin, perhaps related to Old Norse skjóta (“shoot”); however, scout (or scut) was formerly also found as a word for "flow of water over rocks, waterfall; ridge or overhang of rocks" in various northern and central English dialects, and there suggested to have a different Norse origin, Old Norse skúti (“cave formed by jutting rocks”); it is possible that noun and the verb are unrelated. It is also unclear whether the noun meaning "guillemot" is related (the DSL gives it as a separate word, with separate spellings scout, scowt, skout, pronounced /skut/, of uncertain origin), but it might derive from their habit of pouring forth excrement.

1. The guillemot.

verb

Etymology: Uncertain. The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) groups the verb scout, scoot (/skut/, regionally /skʌut/) "cause liquid to gush" with a noun scout "sudden gush or flow of water, as from a spout or over rock", and considers the pair to be of Scandinavian origin, perhaps related to Old Norse skjóta (“shoot”); however, scout (or scut) was formerly also found as a word for "flow of water over rocks, waterfall; ridge or overhang of rocks" in various northern and central English dialects, and there suggested to have a different Norse origin, Old Norse skúti (“cave formed by jutting rocks”); it is possible that noun and the verb are unrelated. It is also unclear whether the noun meaning "guillemot" is related (the DSL gives it as a separate word, with separate spellings scout, scowt, skout, pronounced /skut/, of uncertain origin), but it might derive from their habit of pouring forth excrement.

1. To pour forth a liquid forcibly, especially excrement; to cause a liquid to gush.