scute

noun /skjuːt/

1. A horny, chitinous, or bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodiles, or the feet and legs of birds.

   Then one afternoon, as he's stripping the scutes and hide from a shortnose sturgeon, an idea hits him.

2. A small shield.

   obsolete

   Wyth crownes and wyth scutus; With scutis and crownes of gold I drede we are bought and solde; […]

   But yet they ouer shote vs

3. An old French gold coin.

   historical

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin scutum (“shield”). Compare scutum, escudo, scudo, and écu.

Related words

• scutum

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry scute (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← scutchscutum →

Another random word More words starting with S