Scale

GRE 蓝宝 Barron TOEFL 考研

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Scales

I. noun

Etymology: Middle English scole, scale bowl, scale of a balance, from Old Norse skāl; akin to Old Norse skel shell — more at shell
Date: 14th century
1.
- a. either pan or tray of a balance
- b. a beam that is supported freely in the center and has two pans of equal weight suspended from its ends — usually used in plural
2. an instrument or machine for weighing

II. verb (scaled; scaling)

III. 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 adjective
? scaleless adjective

IV. verb (scaled; scaling)

Date: 15th century
transitive verb
- 1. to remove the scale or scales from (as by scraping) <scale a fish>
- 2. to take off in thin layers or scales <scale tartar from the teeth>
- 3. to throw (as a thin flat stone) so that the edge cuts the air or so that it skips on water ; skim
［b］［c darkslat