1. An
incrustation over a sore, wound, vesicle, or pustule,
formed by the drying up of the
discharge from the
diseased part.
2. The
itch in man; also, the scurvy.
3. The mange, especially. When it appears on sheep.
4. A
malady of potatoes producing pits in their surface, caused by a
minute fungus (Tiburcinia Scabies).
5. A slight iregular protuberance which defaces the surface of a casting, caused by the breaking
away of a
part of the mold.
6. A mean, dirty, paltry fellow.
7. A nickname for a workman
who engages for lower wages than are
fixed by the trades unions; also, for one
who takes the
seat of a workman on a strike.
Origin: OE. Scab, scabbe, shabbe; cf. AS. Scaeb, sceabb, scebb, Dan. & Sw. Skab, and
also L. Scabies, tr. Scabere to scratch,
akin to E. Shave. See Shave, and cf. Shab, Shabby.
Source: Websters Vocabulary