scullion

S1C3U1L1L1I1O1N1
UK/ˈskʌl.i.ən/

noun

A servant from the lower classes.

OriginMiddle French escouillon ← Latin scopa ← Old French souillon →
UncommonFirst used 1400sScrabble 10
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Meanings

scullion1

nounscullion (plural scullions)

plural scullions

  1. A servant from the lower classes.

    They all looked directly at the ſcullion,—the ſcullion had juſt been ſcouring a fiſh-kettle.

    1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter IX, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume V, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], →OCLC, page 52
    1 more example

    "How now, you scullions and cullions: bring hither a pair of cow's hooves to out face this contumelious caitiff."

    1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 44
  2. derogatoryobsoleteA low, base person.First known use 1400s

    Away, you scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian!

    c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

scullion2

verbscullion (plural scullions)

plural scullions

  1. alternativeAlternative form of macaroni.

Scullion3

proper nounScullion (plural Scullions)

plural Scullions · alternative Scallion

  1. A surname from Irish.

Origin

scullion · noun

  1. Old Frenchsouillon“scullion”
  2. Latinscopa
  3. Middle Frenchescouillon“a swab, cloth”
  4. Englishscullion

Either from Middle French escouillon (“a swab, cloth”), diminutive of escouve (“broom, twig”) from Latin scopa, or an alteration of Old French souillon (“scullion”) by influence of scullery.

More words from Middle French, Latin, Old French

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Scullion · proper noun

  1. IrishÓ Scoláidhín
  2. EnglishScullion

Probably a reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Scoláidhín, a diminutive form of scolaidhe (“student”).

More words from Irish

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cullison
Cite this entry
APA

scullion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scullion

MLA

“scullion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scullion. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scullion,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scullion.

Source: scullion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.