scaffold

scaf·fold

noun \ˈska-fəld also -ˌfōld\

Definition of SCAFFOLD

1

a : a temporary or movable platform for workers (as bricklayers, painters, or miners) to stand or sit on when working at a height above the floor or ground

b : a platform on which a criminal is executed (as by hanging or beheading)

c : a platform at a height above ground or floor level

2

: a supporting framework

Examples of SCAFFOLD

1. The condemned man was led to the scaffold.

Origin of SCAFFOLD

Middle English, from Anglo-French scaffald, alteration of Old French eschaafauz, escafaut, alteration of chaafaut, from Vulgar Latin *catafalicum — more at catafalque

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Building Terms

batten, cistern, hearth, lath, transom, wainscot

Rhymes with SCAFFOLD

acold, age-old, ahold, all told, behold, bifold, billfold, black gold, blindfold, blue mold, bread mold, choke hold, controlled, Cotswold, cuckold, eightfold, enfold, fanfold, fivefold, fool's gold, foothold, fourfold, freehold, gatefold, go gold, green mold, handhold, head cold, household, ice-cold, infold, knock cold, leaf mold, leasehold, make bold, ninefold, old gold, onefold, on hold, pinfold, potholed, roothold, sheepfold, sixfold, slime mold, stokehold, stone-cold, stronghold, take hold, tenfold, threefold, threshold, toehold, twice-told, twofold, unfold, unmold, untold, uphold, white gold, whole-souled, withhold

scaffold

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Temporary platform used to elevate and support workers and materials during work on a structure or machine. It consists of one or more wooden planks and is supported by either a timber or a tubular steel or aluminum frame; bamboo is used in parts of Asia. Scaffolding may be raised and lowered by means of cables controlled by a ratchet or electric motor.