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| scale [ skayl ] |
noun (plural scales) |
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| Definition: |
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1. bony plate on fish: any of the small flat bony or horny overlapping plates that cover the bodies of fish and some reptiles and mammals
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2. zoology covering of butterfly wing: a small structure that overlaps others to form the covering of the wings of butterflies and moths
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3. flake: a thin flat piece or flake of something such as dead skin
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4. metallurgy flaky oxide on heated metal: a flaky oxide that forms on the surface of some metals undergoing heat treatment, especially the black oxide that forms on iron or steel at high temperatures
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5. deposit inside kettle or boiler: a white deposit sometimes formed on the inside of a kettle or boiler by the action of heat on the water
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6. dentistry Same as tartar (sense 1)
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7. botany Same as scale leaf
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8. botany plant disease: the diseased condition of plants caused by scale insects
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9. insects Same as scale insect
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verb (past and past participle scaled, present participle scal·ing, 3rd person present singular scales) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb clean scales or scale from something: to remove the scales or scale from something
 scaling the fish
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2. intransitive verb flake off: to come off in scales
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3. transitive verb throw flat object: to throw a thin flat object through the air, especially a flat stone in order to make it skip across a surface of water
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4. transitive verb dentistry scrape tooth: to remove the tartar from a tooth by scraping the surface with a sharp instrument
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5. intransitive verb reptiles shed scales: to shed scales from the body
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| [13th century. < Old French escale< Germanic, "husk"] |
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 scale·less adjective |
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