scute

American  

[skyoot] / skyut /

noun

Zoology.

1. a dermal bony plate, as on an armadillo, or a large horny plate, as on a turtle.

2. a large scale.

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scute British  

/ skjuːt /

noun

1. zoology a horny or chitinous plate that makes up part of the exoskeleton in armadillos, turtles, fishes, etc

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Etymology

Origin of scute

1350–1400 for earlier sense “French coin, écu ( def. ) ”; 1840–50 for current senses; Middle English < Latin scūtum “shield”