Scuttle
/ˈskʌtəl/noun
To move hurriedly with short steps, or to sink a ship deliberately.
Did you know?In naval history, to scuttle a ship meant to intentionally sink it, turning an ordinary word into a verb of deliberate destruction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skuttōną
“to dart, shoot, or move quickly”
Old English
OE
scuttian
“to move hastily or dart about”
Middle English
ME
scutelen
“to move quickly; later, to sink or wreck a ship deliberately”
16th Century
English
scuttle
“to run with short, quick steps; to deliberately sink a vessel by making holes in it”
Modern English
English
scuttle
“to move quickly with short steps, or to sink or abandon something deliberately”