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scup·per¹

(skŭpər)

1. Nautical An opening in the side of a ship at deck level to allow water to run off.

2. An opening for draining off water, as from a floor or the roof of a building.

[Middle English scoper- (in scopernail, nail for attaching leather under a scupper to prevent dirty water from soiling the hull), probably from scopen, to scoop, from scope, a scoop; see SCOOP.]

scup·per²

(skŭpər)

tr.v. scup·pered, scup·per·ing, scup·pers

1. To sink (a ship) deliberately; scuttle.

2. To thwart or ruin: scupper a business deal.

3. Chiefly British To overwhelm or massacre.

[Originally British military slang, to massacre, of unknown origin (probably later influenced by SCUTTLE¹).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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