scab
noun/skæb/
/skæb/
- [countable] a hard dry layer that forms over and covers a wound on the skin as it gets betterTopics Health problemsc2
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- [countable] (informal, disapproving) a worker who refuses to join a strike or takes the place of somebody on strike synonym blackleg
- [uncountable] a skin disease of animals
- [uncountable] a disease of plants, especially apples and potatoes, that causes a rough surface
Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun): from Old Norse skabb; related to dialect shab (compare with shabby). The sense ‘contemptible person’ (dating from the late 16th cent.) was probably influenced by Middle Dutch schabbe ‘slut’.
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scab