▪ I. † scat, n.1 Obs. (rare after OE.).
Also 3 sat.
[OE. sceat masc., = OFris. sket, OS. skat (MLG., Du. schat, whence next), OHG. scaz (MHG. schaz, mod.G. schatz), treasure, ON. skatt-r tribute (whence scat n.3; Da. skat, Sw. skatt), Goth. skatt-s piece of money, money:—OTeut. *skatto-z. Cf. sceat.
The sc stands for (ʃ); if the word had survived its form would be *shat.]
Treasure, money; in ME. only in phr. scat and s(c)rud.
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1070, Swa maneᵹa ᵹersumas on sceat & on scrud & on bokes swa nan man ne mæi oðer tællen. a 1200 Moral Ode 367 Ne sal þer ben naðer scat ne srud ne wereldes wele none. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 795 God gaf him ðor siluer and gold, And hird, and orf, and srud and sat. Ibid. 3169 Quat-so he boden, srud or sat, Egipte folc hem lenen ðat. |
▪ II. † scat, n.2 Obs. rare—1.
In 5 scatte.
[a. Du. schat: see prec.]
Treasure.
| 1481 Caxton Reynard xvi. (Arb.) 35, I haue so grette scatte and good of syluer and of gold that seuen waynes shold not conne carye it away. |
▪ III. scat, n.3
(skæt)
Also 5 skatte, 5–6 skait, 6–9 scatt, skat(t.
[a. ON. skatt-r: see scat n.1]
1. a. gen. A tax, tribute. Now only Hist. with reference to countries under Scandinavian rule.
| 1502 Reg. Privy Seal Scot. I. 116/1 The rasing of al unlawis, eschetis, proffittis, skattis and dewiteis according to the said regalite. 1506 Exch. Rolls Scot. XII. 703 That the fredome and privelege of halikirk be observit..without ony scatt, stent, taxation, or extortion to be maid in tyme cuming. 1513 Douglas æneis Prol. 24 Wrangys to redres suld weyr be vndertane, For na conquest, reif, skat nor pensioun. 1863 Longfellow Wayside Inn, K. Olaf xvi. xii, Laying waste the kingdom, Seizing scatt and treasure. 1886 J. Corbett Fall of Asgard ii. 22 He will not be content with setting his men over us and taking scatt. |
b. In Orkney and Shetland, the land-tax paid to the Crown by a udal tenant. † Also, in certain parts of Scotland and the north of England, the designation of various local imposts in the 15–17th c.
| 1577 in D. Balfour Oppressions in Orkney & Zetld. (1859) 18 Ane dewtie thai pay to the Kingis Majestie for thair scat and landmales zeirlie. 1598 Aberdeen Reg. (1848) II. 172 Ilk howsholder in Futtie..to pay the skait vsid and wont. 1612 Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1816) IV. 481/2 Toillis, anchorages..scattis, land maillis [etc.]. 1814 J. Shirreff Agric. Orkney 30 Subject only to the tax of scat and tithe. 1821 Scott Pirate xviii, We must pay scat and wattle. 1838 Bell Dict. Law Scot., Udal Right is that right in land, which though dependent on the Crown as superior, for payment of a tribute called Skat, is completed [etc.]. 1859 in D. Balfour Oppressions in Orkney & Zetld. 128 Skat, the Tax upon all land occupied by Odal-red, for the support of the Crown, and expense of government. |
2. attrib., as scat-field, scat tax; † scat gild, the payment or tax of ‘scat’; † scat haver, malt, oats, malt, taken in payment of ‘scat’; scat land, land subject to ‘scat’.
| 14.. Customs of Malton in Surtees Misc. (1890) 60 For sellyng of the same [heryng] thay schall gyffe to y⊇ *skatte⁓gyld iiij d. 1483 in R. Davies York Records (1843) 175 In esyng of the tolls, murage, bucher penys & skaitgyld. |
| 1344–5 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 172 Decem boll avene que vocatur *Scathaver de bondis de Heworth. 1450–51 Ibid. 187 Et de vs. rec. pro xij bollez de Scathaver. |
| 1502 in Peterkin Rentals of Orkney (1820) 12 Item w{supt} flawis j d terre *scatland an{supt} in butter scat vij d. |
| 1438–9 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 63 Pro 7 bondis antedictis in precio 7 quar. de *Scatmaltez sic sibi vend. hoc anno. |
| 1868 D. Gorrie Summers & Winters in Orkneys v. 158 Ruga who collected the King of Norway's corn, or the *Scatt-tax in Orkney. 1881 Standard 26 July 5 [Shetland] The sheep and ponies run on the ‘Scatfield’, or common; and the ‘Scat tax’ is not a popular impost. |
▪ IV. scat, n.4 dial.
(skæt)
(See E.D.D.)
[Perh. onomatopœic; the identity of the word in the various senses is uncertain. Cf. squat n.]
1. A blow or buffet.
| 1872 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Joshua Davidson 6 It was a laugh..that seemed to mean the same thing as ‘scat’,—our Cornish word for a blow. 1901 E. L. Voynich Jack Raymond 173 The soft and pitying eyes seemed to shame him ‘like a scat in the face’. |
2. ‘Anything burst or broken open; the sound of a rent; the sharp sound of a bullet’ (E.D.D.). Cf. scat v.3 and adv.
| 1895 Crockett Bog-Myrtle 294 A shot rang out, followed immediately by the ‘scat’ of a bullet against the rock. |
3. A brief spell of weather; a short turn of work.
| 1880 Cornwall Gloss. s.v., A scat of fine weather. 1882 F. W. P. Jago Anc. Lang. Cornwall 256 A scat of frost. 1895 E. M. Stooke Not Exactly i. 24 An' cashionally 'e dooes a scat to gardenin'. |
4. A sudden or passing shower of rain.
| 17.. Prov. in Brice Gazetteer (1759) s.v. Haldon, When Haldon hath a Hat, Kenton beware a Skat [Risdon (1714) 47 Squatt]. 1834 G. Roberts Lyme Regis 252 Scatt, a shower. 1897 E. Phillpotts Lying Prophets ii. vi. 187 Presently a scat of heavy rain on a squall of wind shut out the harbour for a time. |
▪ V. scat, n.5 U.S. slang.
(skæt)
[Origin obscure.]
Whisky.
| 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 73 Scat, noun, general circulation. Whiskey. Derived by suggestion from ‘skey’ (skee), the termination of ‘whiskey’. 1949 Partridge Dict. Underworld 597/2 Scat, whiskey... Perhaps proleptic: it causes intelligence to scat, to scatter, to vanish. 1955 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xxiv. 161 Peter men don't punch much guff as a rule, but sometimes the scat will loosen them up for some good yarns. |
▪ VI. scat, n.6 (and a.) Jazz.
(skæt)
[Prob. imitative: see quot. 1929.]
a. A style of improvised singing in which meaningless but expressive syllables, usu. representing the sound of a musical instrument, are used instead of words. Freq. attrib. passing into adj. (see also b below).
| 1929 Melody Maker Apr. 369/1 This particular type of vocalism is known as ‘Scat’ singing. This name undoubtedly owes its origin to the almost inevitable way of starting any line with ‘Scat-da-doo’. A very fine example of this ‘Scat Singing’ is in ‘Candy Lips’ by Louis Armstrong's Wash⁓board beaters.., the label rightly describing it as ‘Scat’ chorus by Clarence Williams. 1933 D. Runyon in Collier's 28 Jan. 41/1 She has to play against a scat band. 1937 Amer. Speech XII. 182/2 Scat, a style of singing in which the vocalist scorns the lyrics, substituting meaningless but expressive syllables of his own improvisation. 1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets x. 229 The pattern..was derived..from attempts of white singers of popular tunes to imitate the rhythmic Negro scat song. 1963 Times 27 Dec. 4/7 The exhilarating and often quasi-instrumental vocal duetting, sometimes in scat or in falsetto, behind the melodic line. 1977 Rolling Stone 24 Mar., Jarreau is a sophisticated cabaret artist whose vocal mimicry and jazz-man scat account for much of his onstage success. |
b. Comb., as scat-singing n., singing in this style; also as adj.; hence scat-singer and (as a back-formation) scat-sing v. trans. and intr.
| 1929 [see above]. 1934 A. Bowlly Modern Style Singing xxiv. 118 Current records should be the best guide of how..to ‘scat’ sing. 1936 Amer. Mercury May p. x/2 Scat singer, a hi-de-ho shouter. 1949 L. Feather Inside Be-Bop v. 39 The swing era produced such notable ‘scat’ singers as Leo Watson. 1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) xx. 252 She pressed the full impact of her scat-singing personality into record grooves. 1957 Amer. Speech XXXII. 275 Many bop phrases seem to derive from the nonsense syllables of scat-singing, which, in turn, is simply the voice imitating the sound of an instrument, the first known instance of which, so the story goes, occurred when Louis Armstrong dropped his lyric sheet in the middle of a 1926 recording date and was forced to improvise the words. 1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed iv. 29 A hot-jazz man..with..a misplaced confidence in his ability as a scat-singer. 1968 P. Oliver Screening Blues vi. 205 With a fierce line in ‘scat’ singing which had the ‘dirty tone’ of a muted trumpet, Mary Dixon sang with no apparent restraint. 1974 New Yorker 29 Apr. 73 Scat-singing Ella Fitzgerald doesn't just see an audience. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 20 Nov. 24/3 He didn't invent scat singing any more than Louis Armstrong did, but it's a technique he perfected. 1978 Fanfare (Toronto) 10 May 11/2 She sings Twisted, scat sings it, tosses her head back, shakes her lion's mane, pushes her voice into a falsetto that does no little damage to the eardrums. 1978 Maledicta 1977 I. 222 Fang Dang would scat-sing the melody (i.e. using nonsensical words or ‘vocalese’ to ‘sing’ the parts of the instrumentation). |
▪ VII. scat, n.7
(skæt)
[ad. Gr. σκατ-, σκῶρ dung.]
1. Dung; (pl.) droppings.
| 1950 in Webster Add. 1959 E. Collier Three against Wilderness xx. 207 Whenever I travelled the game trails, my eyes were alert for any coyote scat (manure) deposited on them. 1966 C. Sweeney Scurrying Bush iv. 48 The speculation when finding a spoor or scat. 1977 Devon Wetlands (Devon County Council) xix. 74 The two signs of Otters most likely to be found are their footprints and their droppings (usually known as scats or spraints)... Recognising spraints requires some practice particularly to avoid confusing them with Mink scats. 1977 New Yorker 27 June 70/3 We avoid a mound of bear scat. |
2. slang. Heroin. Cf. shit n.1 1.
| 1970 Lebende Sprachen XV. 103/2 Scat, heroin. 1972 D. E. Westlake Cops & Robbers (1973) ii. 39 You're dealing in machismo, man, just like I'm dealing in scat. |
▪ VIII. † scat, v.1 Obs.
In 5–6 scatte.
[In Caxton, a. MDu. schatten, f. schat scat n.2; in the Sc. use perh. a. ON. skatta, f. skatt-r scat n.3]
trans. To oppress by exactions.
| 1481 Caxton Reynard xlii. (Arb.) 114 Whan they be myghty and doubted thenne ben they extorcionners and scatte and pylle the peple. 1543 Aberdeen Reg. (1844) I. 191 The toune is hauely murmurit be the landmen, that the vittell hyaris of the merkat, scattis thame grytlie in taking of sampills, scheyt-schakkingis, and sic oder ewill vsit custum. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 67 He conselled thame [to] exerceis skarting [v.r. scatting] and oppressioun wpoun the realme. |
▪ IX. † scat, v.2 Obs.
In 6 skatt, 6–7 scatt.
[Alternation of scot v., due to association with scat n.3]
intr. In phrase to scat and lot (later to scat or contribute) = ‘to scot and lot’, i.e. to contribute equally to the defraying of some charge or cost.
| 1560 Burgh Rec. Edin. (1875) III. 87 Personis..quhilkis..nother scattis lottis extentis walkis nor wardis nor yit beris na portable charges within this burgh. 1581 in Rec. Convent. Roy. Burghs (1870) I. 117 The acts of burrowes maid anent the scatting and lotting for pilleit and cassin guids. 1594 Ibid. 449 Nather skatt and lott with thame. 1612 Ibid. II. 340 That no monye sould scatt or contribute with onye goods castin or pilleyit. |
▪ X. scat, v.3 dial.
(skæt)
[Cf. scat n.4]
trans. To break in pieces, shatter.
| 1837 J. F. Palmer Dial. Devonsh. Dial. 79 To Scat, to dash any fragile body on the ground. 1893 ‘Q.’ (Quiller-Couch) Delect. Duchy 306 The van..scat itself to bits against the bridge. |
▪ XI. scat, v.4 Jazz (chiefly U.S.).
(skæt)
[f. scat n.6]
a. intr. To perform scat-singing; to sing or improvise with meaningless syllables.
| 1935 Metronome Apr. 54/3 Cab scats through this pair in his best Harlem manner. 1941 Daily News (Chicago) 11 June 24/1 Johnny..didn't know the words to the second verse. Instead he sang ‘sho-ho-ho’, and discovered he liked it that way. Since his audience liked it too, he.. has been ‘scatting’ ever since. 1975 New Yorker 26 May 6/1 He and Buddy Rich..launch a series of fusillading four-bar breaks, in which..Torme scats in the Ella Fitzgerald mode. |
b. trans. To sing or improvise (a song) by replacing the words by meaningless syllables.
| 1946 Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues (1957) 104 Louis Armstrong riffed and scatted them. 1958 Gramophone Dec. 331/2 Only a couple of songs are scatted. 1973 Black World Aug. 58/1 Could scat all Prez's solos note for note in the right key. |
Hence ˈscatting vbl. n.
| 1946 Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues (1957) viii. 119 The first time Old Gatemouth ever put his scatting on wax. 1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) xx. 252 In 1946 she coined the whole new scatting vocabulary. 1973 S. Henderson Understanding New Black Poetry 57 The most interesting technical feature of the poem, however, is the singing and scatting of two songs connected with Coltrane. |
▪ XII. scat, adv. dial.
(skæt)
Also skat, scatt.
[Prob. onomatopœic: cf. scat n.4]
to go scat: to fall down; to break in pieces; to become bankrupt.
| 1867 Rock Jim an' Nell xxix. (E.D.S. No. 76), I've trad upon a patch, I'm veared a shall go scat. 1887 ‘Q.’ (Quiller-Couch) Dead Man's Rock 7 Finally my father's bank broke—or, as we say in the West ‘went scat’. 1887 Baring-Gould Gaverocks xxxiii, Little Ruth wiped up the mess made by the broken eggs. Poor Ruth was sore distressed at their ‘going scatt’ on the floor. |
▪ XIII. scat, int. colloq.
[? identical with ‘ss cat!’ (i.e. a hiss followed by the word cat) used in driving away cats.]
Begone! Hence used as verb (intr.). Also in phr. quicker than scat.
| 1838 ‘T. Titterwell’ Yankee Notions 52 Drive her away! 'scat her away! Ibid. 56 Stop, there! whisht! scat! 1860 J. S. Jones Green Mountain Boy i. iii. 13 I'll have the square discharge him quicker than s'cat. 1869 Mrs. Whitney We Girls x. (1874) 218 ‘Scat!’ cried Stephen. And Ruth scatted. 1880 J. C. Harris Uncle Remus xxii. (1883) 110 W'en ole man Rabbit say ‘scoot’, dey scooted, en w'en ole Miss Rabbit say ‘scat’, dey scatted. 1896 J. F. B. Lillard Poker Stories ix. 210 We chucked him two watches and 380 dollars in cash quicker'n scat. 1917 D. Canfield Understood Betsy x. 229 Ann and I hitched up quicker'n scat. 1931 M. Allingham Look to Lady xiv. 145 Shoo! Shoo! Scat! We've got a policeman coming. 1950 ‘D. Divine’ King of Fassarai xviii. 147 Get the hell out of it!.. I told you kids to scat. 1977 H. Greene FSO-1 xvii. 152 Set the breakfast table out here in the drawing room. And then, scat! |