Meanings
plural scutages
- countablehistoricaluncountableA tax, paid in lieu of military service, that was a significant source of revenue in England in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The wars and the maladministration of Richard I and John forced these kings more and more to count on extraordinary revenues, to multiply aids and especially scutages.
1925, D. Pasquet, An Essay on the Origins of the House of Commons1 more example
The land tax, in its modern shape, has superseded all the former methods of rating either property, or persons in respect of their property, whether by tenths or fifteenths, subsidies on land, hidages, scutages, or tallages
1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLCSynonyms: escuage
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA tax, paid in lieu of military service, that was a significant source of revenue in England in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Origin
- Latinscutum“shield”
- Medieval Latinscutagium
- Middle Englishscutage
- Englishscutage
From Middle English scutage, from Medieval Latin scutagium, from Latin scutum (“shield”).
More words from Middle English, Medieval Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Greek αντισήκωμα
- αντισήκωμα (antisíkoma)a tax
Russian щитовые деньги, скутагий
- щитовые деньги (ščitovyje denʹgi)a tax
- скутагий (skutagij)a tax
Cite this entry
scutage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scutage
“scutage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scutage. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scutage,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scutage.
Source: scutage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.