Scalp
[skælp]
Definition
(noun.) the skin that covers the top of the head; 'they wanted to take his scalp as a trophy'.
(verb.) remove the scalp of; 'The enemies were scalped'.
(verb.) sell illegally, as on the black market.
Inputed by Harvey--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A bed of oysters or mussels.
(n.) That part of the integument of the head which is usually covered with hair.
(n.) A part of the skin of the head, with the hair attached, cut or torn off from an enemy by the Indian warriors of North America, as a token of victory.
(n.) Fig.: The top; the summit.
(v. t.) To deprive of the scalp; to cut or tear the scalp from the head of.
(v. t.) To remove the skin of.
(v. t.) To brush the hairs or fuzz from, as wheat grains, in the process of high milling.
(v. i.) To make a small, quick profit by slight fluctuations of the market; -- said of brokers who operate in this way on their own account.
Edited by Estelle
Definition
n. the outer covering of the skull or brain-case including the skin the expanded tendon of the occipito-frontalis muscle with intermediate cellular tissue and blood-vessels: the skin on which the hair grows: the skin of the top of the head together with the hair torn off as a token of victory by the North American Indians: the skin of the head of a noxious wild animal: (her.) the skin of the head of a stag with the horns attached: a bed of oysters or mussels (Scot. Scaup).—v.t. to cut the scalp from: to flay: to lay bare: to deprive of grass: to sell at less than recognised rates: to destroy the political influence of.—ns. Scal′per one who scalps; a machine for removing the ends of grain as wheat or rye or for separating the different grades of broken wheat semolina &c.: one who buys and sells railroad tickets &c. at less than the official rates a ticket-broker: an instrument used by surgeons for scraping carious bones (also Scal′ping-ī′ron); Scal′ping-knife a knife formerly a sharp stone used by the Indians of North America for scalping their enemies; Scal′ping-tuft a scalp-lock.—adj. Scalp′less having no scalp bald.—n. Scalp′-lock a long tuft of hair left by the North American Indians as a challenge.
Editor: Winthrop
Examples
- Lacerations of the scalp (he probed--Does that hurt? Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Only two days could I get on deck, and on one of these a gentleman had a bad scalp wound from being thrown against the iron wall of a small smoking-room erected over a freight hatch. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- When we came back from Tangier, in Africa, we were topped with fezzes of the bloodiest hue, hung with tassels like an Indian's scalp-lock. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- They evidently suspected him of playing some wretched fraud upon them, and seemed half inclined to scalp the party. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He felt his hair rising upon his scalp. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- He overcame his four tiger whelps with ease, and with no other hurt than the loss of a portion of his scalp. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- She's after your scalp. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- The Indians always took the scalps when Grandfather was at Fort Kearny after the war. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I said, with withering irony, that it was sufficient to be skinned--I declined to be scalped. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- All of them were scalped and otherwise horribly mangled. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
Typist: Paul