scut

/skʌt/

//skʌt// noun

"scut" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scut” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A hare; (hunting, also figuratively) a hare as the game in a hunt.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scut · scut · English

scut · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for scut
PropertyValue
Headwordscut
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skʌt/
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “scut” in English

scutranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

scut is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /skʌt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

scut has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scut (“hare”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Middle English scut, scute (“short”), possibly from Old French escorter, escurter, or Latin excurtāre, scurtāre, from curtō (“to cut short, shorten”), from curtus (“short; s… The correct English form is scut, spelled S-C-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A hare; (hunting, also figuratively) a hare as the game in a hunt.
  2. 2
    A short, erect tail, as of a hare, rabbit, or deer.
  3. 3
    The buttocks or rump; also, the female pudenda, the vulva.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how scut appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Shakespeare's use of the word scut may be a sly reference to Mistress Ford's pudenda: see sense 3.
  2. I rumpled her Feathers, and tickled her Scut, / And play'd the round Rubbers at two handed Put.

Etymology

From Middle English scut (“hare”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Middle English scut, scute (“short”), possibly from Old French escorter, escurter, or Latin excurtāre, scurtāre, from curtō (“to cut short, shorten”), from curtus (“short; shortened”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”)) + -ō. A derivation from Old Norse skut, skutr (“stern of a boat”), or Icelandic skott (“animal's tail”) is thought to be unlikely. As to sense 3 (“the female pudenda, the vulva”), see the letter of 5 June 1875 from Joseph Crosby to Joseph Parker Norris published in One Touch of Shakespeare (1986).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "scut"?
"scut" is spelled S-C-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /skʌt/.
What does "scut" mean?
As a noun, "scut" means: A hare; (hunting, also figuratively) a hare as the game in a hunt.
How do you pronounce "scut"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scut" is /skʌt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "scut"?
From Middle English scut (“hare”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Middle English scut, scute (“short”), possibly from Old French escorter, escurter, or Latin excurtāre, scurtāre, from curtō (“to cut short, shorten”), from curtus ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list