scalp en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /skælp/
Etymology
From Middle English scalp, skalp, scalpe (“crown of the head; skull”). Originally a northern word, and therefore probably from a North Germanic source, although the sense-development is unclear; compare Sylt North Frisian Skolp (“dandruff”), Old Norse skálpr (“sheath”), Old Swedish skalp, Dutch schelp (“shell”).
Meanings
- (dialectal) The top of the head; the skull.
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The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
The original titanium mesh plate that was inserted in the summer of 2010 was removed last June since it was causing his scalp to break down.
2014, Kaitlin Newman, “Five years after beating, Ryan Diviney's family holds out hope”, in Baltimore Sun, archived from the original on 10 Nov 2014:By the bare scalpe of Robin Hoods fat Fryer, / This fellow were a King, for our wilde faction.
c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
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(historical) The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from. ▸ A part of the skin of the head, with the hair attached, formerly cut or torn off from an enemy by warriors in some cultures as a token of victory.
Some tribes used to collect scalps to prove how many of the enemy they had killed in battle.
They carried the dripping scalps of his companions, and one had skinned off Baptiste's black beard as well, for a trophy.
1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, A Man Called Horse; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 171:The most disturbing thing about Disneyland is seeing all those smiling people walking around wearing Mickey Mouse's severed scalp.
2018 September 14, Norm Macdonald Has a Show, season 1, episode 6, spoken by Norm Macdonald:
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The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from. ▸ The skin of the head of a stag, to which the horns are attached.
He bears for Arms : Argent, on a chevron invected gules, between two bugle-horns sable, stringed of the second in chief, and the attires of a stag affixed to the scalp in base of the third, two fasces chevronways or.
1899, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, Armorial Families: A Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, Showing which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority, page 313:
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(figuratively) A victory, especially at the expense of someone else.
[At the American State Convention in 1856 the Hon E. M. Yerger of Yazoo said that] he came up to the great council fire of his people, not like his friends Cobb, Hillyer and Brooke, with no scalps at his girdle that he had had a fight and a glorious victory.
1856 January 25, “Editorial Correspondence”, in The Weekly American Banner, Yazoo City, Miss., page 3:Admiral Lee, aboard USS Washington, can content himself with the fact that his ship has claimed the scalp, or helped claim the scalp, of three out of the four Kongō class, and has landed meaningful hits on Nagato and Yamato as well, making it the single most successful U.S. battleship in history.
2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 46:28 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2022:Pat Buchanan, in his ongoing presidential quest, claimed his first scalp, and Donald Wildmon's newsletter chortled that his efforts in opposing the NEA had paid off.
1993, John Frohnmayer, Leaving Town Alive: Confessions of an Arts Warrior, page 331:Randy Waldrum’s Nigeria, ranked 40th in the world, 36 places below England, looked as if they would claim the latest big scalp and knock out the European champions after the eliminations of Brazil, Canada, Germany and the USA.
2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian:His mind is quick to perceive a weak place in the enemy's armor, as he glances over the exchanges, and when he "goes for" a solitary foe he always returns with the scalp hanging at his girdle.
1872 August 9, Correspondence of the New York Times, “Nasby at Home”, in The Portland Daily Press, Portland, Me., page 1:
- (Scotland) A bed or stratum of shellfish.
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(figuratively) The top; the summit.
the snowy scalp of Ben Cruachan
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| scalps | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
scalpless · scalphunting · hemiscalp · scalp lock · scalp ringworm · scalped · scalpy · scalp-ear-nipple syndrome · scalphunter · bulldog scalp · scalpal
Descendants
скальп · ска̏лп · scalp · скалп · skalp · skalps · escalpo · skalp · scalpo · skalp · skalpo · Skalp
Synonyms
Translations (70)
af kopvel (part of head where the hair grows) · da skalp (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · mk теме (top of the head) · la calva (part of head where the hair grows) · ru скальп (part of head where the hair grows) · th หนังศีรษะ (part of head where the hair grows) · sh vlasište (part of head where the hair grows) · bg теме (top of the head) · cmn 頭皮 /头皮 (part of head where the hair grows) · de Oberkopf (top of the head) · mi kiri angaanga (part of head where the hair grows) · km ស្បែកក្បាល (part of head where the hair grows) · fi hiusmarto (part of head where the hair grows) · sv huvudsvål (part of head where the hair grows) · chr ᎤᏍᏗᏁᎦᎸᎢ (part of head where the hair grows) · pl góra głowy (part of head where the hair grows) · gl coiro cabeludo (part of head where the hair grows) · bg скалп (part of head where the hair grows) · mk скалп (part of head where the hair grows) · he קרקפת (part of head where the hair grows) · de Skalp (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · tr kafa derisi (part of head where the hair grows) · sv hjässa (top of the head) · it scalpo (part of head where the hair grows) · it scalpo (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · fi päänahka (victory) · alt баштыҥ терези (part of head where the hair grows) · da skalp (victory) · ar فَرْوَة اَلرَّأْس (part of head where the hair grows) · ml ഓട്ടി (part of head where the hair grows) · pt escalpo (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · hu skalp (part of head where the hair grows) · es mollera (top of the head) · vo skalp (part of head where the hair grows) · it cotenna (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · sv skalp (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · it cotenna (part of head where the hair grows) · tl anit (top of the head) · sv skalp (part of head where the hair grows) · tk kelläň depesi (part of head where the hair grows) · eo skalpo (part of head where the hair grows) · tr saç derisi (part of head where the hair grows) · th หนังหัว (part of head where the hair grows) · it cuoio capelluto (part of head where the hair grows) · da hovedskalp (part of head where the hair grows) · mi kawiu (part of head where the hair grows) · ca cuir cabellut (part of head where the hair grows) · de Kopfhaut (part of head where the hair grows) · pt couro cabeludo (part of head where the hair grows) · lv skalps (part of head where the hair grows) · da isse (top of the head) · sv skalp (victory) · nb hodebunn (part of head where the hair grows) · es pericráneo (part of head where the hair grows) · tk kelläň depesi (victory) · nl kruin (part of head where the hair grows) · sh vlasnik (part of head where the hair grows) · fr cuir chevelu (part of head where the hair grows) · ml തലയോട്ടി (part of head where the hair grows) · th หนังหัว (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · ru скальп (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · fi päälaki (top of the head) · es cuero cabelludo (part of head where the hair grows) · ga craiceann an chinn (part of head where the hair grows) · mi kawiu (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · fi päänahka (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · ja 頭皮 (part of head where the hair grows) · vi da đầu (part of head where the hair grows) · bg скалп (part of the skin of the head of an enemy kept as a trophy) · ru ко́жа головы́ (part of head where the hair grows)