escaille

== Middle French == === Alternative forms === eschaille, esquaille, escalle === Etymology === From Old French escaille. === Noun === escaille f (plural escailles) scale (flat, hard part of an outer coating) Michel de Montaigne, Essais (Livre II), edition P. Villey et Saulnier, 1595 là où toutes les autres creatures, nature les a revestuës de coquilles, de gousses, d’escorse, de poil, de laine, de pointes, de cuir, de bourre, de plume, d’escaille, de toison, et de soye selon le besoin de leur estre While all other creatures, natures has adorned them with shells, cloves, bark, fur, wool, spines, leather, hair, feathers, scales, fleeces or silk depending on what their being needs ring or plate of armor Michel de Montaigne, Essais (Livre II), edition P. Villey et Saulnier, 1595 ce sont les escailles, dequoy nos ancestres avoient fort accoustumé de se servir These are the armored plates our ancestors had the strong habit of using ==== Descendants ==== French: écaille == Old French == === Alternative forms === eschaille, escalle === Etymology === From Frankish *skallija (“scale, shell”), from Proto-Germanic *skaljō (“scale, shell, husk”) ( > English shell), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut, part, sunder, split, divide”). Doublet of escale. === Noun === escaille oblique singular, f (oblique plural escailles, nominative singular escaille, nominative plural escailles) scale (flat, hard part of an outer coating) ring or plate of armor ==== Descendants ==== Middle French: escaille, eschaille, esquaille, escalleFrench: écaille → Middle English: shelle, schelle, scele (“vessel, dish, drinking vessel”)