scutate

[Latin scutatus, from scutum =a shield.] 1. Bot.: Formed like an ancient round buckler. 2. Zool.: Protected by large scales. scutch, v. t. (The same as Scotch, v. (q. v.)] 1. To beat, to drub. 2. To dre by beating; specifically. (1) Cotton - man .: To separate, as the individual fibers of, after they have been loosened and cleansed. (2) Flax - man .: To beat off and separate as the woody parts of the stalks of. (3) Silk -man.: To disentangle, straighten, and cut into lengths, as flo and refuse silk. scutch, s. [SCUTCH, v.] 1. A wooden instrument for dre ing flax or hemp; a scutcher. 2. A provincial name for couch-gra (q. v.). scutch-rake, s. A flax-dre er's implement.