scantling
scant·ling (skant′liŋ)
noun
- a small quantity or amount
- dimensions of building material
- a small beam or timber, esp. one of small cross section, as a two-by-four
- a small, upright timber, as in the frame of a structure
Etymology: altered (as if < scant + -ling) < ME scantilone, a carpenter's gauge, aphetic < NormFr escantillon, for OFr eschandillon, a measure < Prov escandil, a measure of volume < VL *scandaculum, ladder, plumb < scandere: see descend
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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