Main Entry: ³scale

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French escale, eschale, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English scealu shell, husk — more at shell

Date: 14th century

1 a : a small, flattened, rigid, and definitely circumscribed plate forming part of the external body covering especially of a fish b : a small thin plate suggesting a fish scale <scales of mica> <the scales on a moth's wing> c : the scaly covering of a scaled animal
2 : a small thin dry lamina shed (as in many skin diseases) from the skin
3 : a thin coating, layer, or incrustation: as a : a usually black scaly coating of oxide forming on the surface of a metal (as iron) when it is heated for processing b : a hard incrustation usually rich in sulfate of calcium that is deposited on the inside of a vessel (as a boiler) in which water is heated
4 a : a modified leaf protecting a seed plant bud before expansion b : a thin, membranous, chaffy, or woody bract
5 a : any of the small overlapping usually metal pieces forming the outer surface of scale armor b : scale armor
6 a : scale insect b : infestation with or disease caused by scale insects

— scaled \ˈskā(ə)ld\ adjective

— scale·less \ˈskāl-ləs\ adjective