scantling

scant·ling  (skntlng, -ln)

n.

1. A very small amount; a modicum.

2. A small timber used in construction.

3. The dimensions of a building material, especially the width and thickness of a timber.

4. Nautical The dimensions of the structural parts of a vessel. Often used in the plural.

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[Alteration of Middle English scantlon, scantilon, carpenter's gauge, from Old French escantillon, alteration of *eschandillon, from Late Latin *scandiculum, alteration of scandculum, ladder, gauge, from Latin scandere, to climb; see skand- in Indo-European roots.]

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scantling [ˈskæntlɪŋ]

n

1. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Building) a piece of sawn timber, such as a rafter, that has a small cross section

2. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Building) the dimensions of a piece of building material or the structural parts of a ship, esp those in cross section

3. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Building) a building stone, esp one that is more than 6 feet in length

4. a small quantity or amount

[changed (through influence of scant and -ling¹) from earlier scantillon, a carpenter's gauge, from Old Norman French escantillon, ultimately from Latin scandere to climb; see scan]

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Scantling a small quantity—Johnson, 1755.

Examples: scantling of apples, 1849; of burgundy, 1765; of eloquence, 1704; of food 1835; of geological knowledge, 1876; of paper, 1743; of time, 1665; of wit, 1680.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

scantling - an upright in house framing           stud building, edifice - a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-story building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice" upright, vertical - a vertical structural member as a post or stake; "the ball sailed between the uprights"