scantling

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A very small amount; a modicum.
2. n. A small timber used in construction.
3. n. The dimensions of a building material, especially the width and thickness of a timber.
4. n. Nautical The dimensions of the structural parts of a vessel. Often used in the plural.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Scant; small.
2. n. A pattern; sample; specimen.
3. n. A rough draft; a rude sketch.
4. n. A measuring-rod.
5. n. Measurement; size; dimensions; compass; grade.
6. n. A small quantity, number, or amount; a modicum.
7. n. In naval architecture, the size in any case under consideration of some one of the principal parts of the hull of a ship, such as floors, frames, outside plating, etc.
8. n. In carpentry and stone-cutting, the size to which it is intended to cut timber or stone; the length, breadth, and thickness of a timber or stone.
9. n. A small beam less than five inches square in section, such as the quartering for a partition, rafters, purlins, or pole-plates in a roof, etc.
10. n. A kind of trestle or horse for supporting a cask.

Wiktionary

1. n. The set size or dimension of a piece of timber, stone etc, or materials used to build ships or aircraft.
2. n. A small portion, a scant amount.
3. n. A small, upright timber used in construction, especially less than five inches square.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Not plentiful; small; scanty.
2. n. A fragment; a bit; a little piece.
3. n. A piece or quantity cut for a special purpose; a sample.
4. n. A small quantity; a little bit; not much.
5. n. A piece of timber sawed or cut of a small size, as for studs, rails, etc.
6. n. The dimensions of a piece of timber with regard to its breadth and thickness; hence, the measure or dimensions of anything.
7. n. A rough draught; a rude sketch or outline.
8. n. A frame for casks to lie upon; a trestle.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. an upright in house framing