scantle

S1C3A1N1T1L1E1
/ˈskæntəl/

verb

To scant; to be niggardly with; to divide into small pieces; to cut short or down.

“c. 1608-1634, John Webster, Appius and Virginia All their pay / Must your discretion scantle; keep it back.”

OriginOld French escanteler →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

scantle1

verbscantle (third-person singular simple present scantles, present participle scantling, simple past and past participle scantled)

present singular third person scantles · participle present scantling · participle past scantled · past scantled

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo scant; to be niggardly with; to divide into small pieces; to cut short or down.

    c. 1608-1634, John Webster, Appius and Virginia All their pay / Must your discretion scantle; keep it back.

scantle2

verbscantle (third-person singular simple present scantles, present participle scantling, simple past and past participle scantled)

present singular third person scantles · participle present scantling · participle past scantled · past scantled

  1. intransitiveTo be deficient; to fail.

    That in her scantled banks, though wandring long inclos'd,

    1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 24 p. 75
nounscantle (plural scantles)

plural scantles

  1. A gauge for measuring slates.

Origin

scantle · verb

  1. Old Frenchescanteler
  2. Englishscantle

Old French escanteler, eschanteler.

More words from Old French

Full word history & related roots →

scantle · verb, noun

From scant + -le.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Stancel
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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