scuttle1
n.
- a metal container with a sloping hinged lid and a handle, used to fetch and store coal for a domestic fire.
- Brit. the part of a car's bodywork between the windscreen and the bonnet.
Etymology
OE scutel ‘dish, platter’, from ON skutill, from L. scutella ‘dish’.
scuttle2
v.
run hurriedly or furtively with short quick steps.
n.
an act or sound of scuttling.
Etymology
C15: cf. dial. scuddle, frequentative of scud.
scuttle3
v.
- sink (one's own ship) deliberately.
- deliberately cause (a scheme) to fail.
n.
an opening with a lid in a ship's deck or side.
Etymology
C15 (as n.): perh. from OFr. escoutille, from the Sp. dimin. escotilla ‘hatchway’.