scalp

Meanings

Noun

• The top of the head; the skull.
• The part of the head where the hair grows from, or used to grow from.
• A part of the skin of the head, with the hair attached, formerly cut or torn off from an enemy by warriors in some cultures as a token of victory.
• The skin of the head of a stag with the horns attached.
• A victory, especially at the expense of someone else.
• A bed or stratum of shellfish.
• The top; the summit.

Verb

• To remove the scalp (part of the head from where the hair grows), by brutal act or accident.
• To resell, especially tickets, usually for an inflated price, often illegally.
• To bet on opposing competitors so as to make a profit from the bookmaker.
• On an open outcry exchange trading floor, to buy and sell rapidly for one's own account, aiming to buy from a seller and a little later sell to a buyer, making a small profit from the difference (roughly the amount of the bid/offer spread, or less).
• To screen or sieve ore before further processing.
• To remove the skin of.
• To remove the grass from.
• To destroy the political influence of.
• To brush the hairs or fuzz from (wheat grains, etc.) in the process of high milling.

Origin

• From Middle English scalp, skalp, scalpe. Originally a northern word, and therefore probably from a North Germanic source, although the sense-development is unclear; compare Sylt North Frisian Skolp, Old Norse skálpr, Old Swedish skalp, Middle Dutch schelpe.