scuffle

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈskʌfəl/ Rhymes: -ʌfəl Hyphenation: scuf‧fle === Etymology 1 === Possibly of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”). ==== Noun ==== scuffle (plural scuffles) A rough, disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters. (slang) Poverty; struggle. (archaic) A child's pinafore or bib. ===== Derived terms ===== scuffle hunter scuffly ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== scuffle (third-person singular simple present scuffles, present participle scuffling, simple past and past participle scuffled) (intransitive) To fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters. (intransitive) To walk with a shuffling gait. (slang) To make a living with difficulty, getting by on a low income, to struggle financially. ===== Derived terms ===== scuffler ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === The noun is a borrowing from Dutch schoffel; the English verb arose via subsequent verbification within English but is also parallel with Dutch schoffelen. ==== Noun ==== scuffle (plural scuffles) A type of hoe, manipulated by both pushing and pulling, with a sharp blade parallel with the worked surface; an instance of this type. Synonyms: scuffle hoe, Dutch hoe Hypernyms: hoe < hand tool < implement, tool Near-synonyms: collinear hoe, collineal hoe (loosely synonymous) ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== scuffle (third-person singular simple present scuffles, present participle scuffling, simple past and past participle scuffled) (agriculture) To work the soil surface for weeding, etc. Near-synonyms: (sometimes synonymous) scarify, cultivate, grub; weed ===== Derived terms ===== scuffler === References === James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Scuffle”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC. “scuffle n.1”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present. “scuffle v.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.