Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The art of carving or incising intricate designs on whalebone or whale ivory.
- n. A decorative article made by this art.
- v. To decorate (whale ivory or whalebone) with intricate carvings or designs or make such designs.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To engrave various fanciful designs on (shells, whales' teeth, walrus-tusks, etc.); in general, to execute any piece of ingenious mechanical work.
- n. A shell or a piece of ivory scrimshawed or fancifully carved.
- Made by scrimshawing.
Wiktionary
- n. uncountable The manufacture of handicrafts by sailors on long voyages, especially as whittled from wood or bone.
- n. countable An item produced by scrimshaw.
- v. To make an item of scrimshaw.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. Sailor's cant. U.S. To ornament, as shells, ivory, etc., by engraving, and (usually) rubbing pigments into the incised lines.
- n. Sailor's cant, U.S. A shell, a whale's tooth, or the like, that is scrimshawed.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a carving (or engraving) on whalebone, whale ivory, walrus tusk, etc., usually by American whalers
Etymologies
- Origin unknown. (Wiktionary)
- Probably from scrimshander. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Hey guys if any of you are interested in scrimshaw I found a guy down in GA that does beautiful work.”
“To ensure Quaiche's best efforts his lover is being held captive in a torturous device called a scrimshaw suit.”
“Such work done on shipboard is called scrimshaw work.”
“The style of engraving on it looks like what is called "scrimshaw", and is considered a folk art form, practiced by whalers and other sailors in the age of wooden ships.”
“The great jaw-pans were sawn off, and placed at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for "scrimshaw," or carved work.”
The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales
“But our carpenter was a famous workman at "scrimshaw," and he started half a dozen walking-sticks forthwith.”
The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales
“By 1960, a half-million visitors came annually to goggle at the life-size model of a 312-pound sea bass, scrimshaw, a model of HMS Bounty and 40,000 other objects.”
The Wall Street Journal: California Showman Pioneered Whale Watching as a Pastime
“Oh wow, Space Marine - gay super-warriors lusting after each other while doing intricate scrimshaw carvings?”
“Reince Priebus carves scrimshaw of his notable stool.”
“Why it's still going The fusion of history, knowledge and manners speaks of gentler times and nobler ways, of humility, tweed, bicycle bells and feigned interest in the provenance of one's scrimshaw.”
The Guardian: Top Gear, New Tricks, Lewis … the television shows that won't die
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘scrimshaw’.
-
Pshaw, Hawkshaw!
Take the bashaw in the rickshaw, or no cumshaw for you.
pshaw, hawkshaw, bashaw, rickshaw, autorickshaw, scrimshaw, trishaw, cumshaw, cycle-rickshaw, crenshaw, kickshaw, hernshaw
-
wonky words
apotheosis, apotheosize, gimcrack, Strine, denizen, hoary, epicene, spurious, scofflaw, effete, scrimshaw
-
erinnbatykefer's Words
ewer, lace, grenadine, wick, haruspex, augur, distal, proximal, supine, labyrinthine, rivers, monongahela and 176 more...
-
Vega's Logophile Dictionary
Words I've heard/read in use, words being learnt, words that I want to eventually use in everyday language, words that are high-brow and elitist and scholarly and obscure, words that display the wo...
parsimonious, torpor, recalcitrant, plebeian, vitriol, gumption, augur, aestival, celerity, diaphanous, farrago, nonpareil and 287 more...
-
Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
thunderfuck, incredible, merp, sara, flopparoo, smother, fugly, buer, plum, canny, nefelibata, cuntbucket and 1972 more... -
Whaleworthy & Piratical Words
A list of favorite nautical words to be sprinkled liberally throughout speech for piratical or Melvillian effect.
batten down, back and fill, beamy, baulking, beckets, bilge, bold shore, boomjumper, breaker, larboard, abaft, ash breeze and 156 more...
-
Favorite Words of AWP13
We asked attendees who visited the Wordnik booth what their favorite words were, and these are what they told us. (AWP is an annual conference for writers and those in the writing world.)
cling, declivity, susurrus, caramel, cataract, please, fester, reverie, kerplunk!, defenestration, colonel, ocean and 174 more...
-
sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
-
the omnibus
preponderance, idioglossia, acumen, heteronym, flux, anacoluthon, metonymy, impetus, constellation, exegesis, revelatory, cloistered and 877 more...
-
Tuesday words
just the next words that come along
nasality, transignification, lapsarian, disciple, slanguage, atwitter, avast, ahoy, asleep, awake, hymnody, glissade and 573 more...
-
Words of Whimsy & Grace
abecedary, addendum, ampersand, anachronism, avuncular, balderdash, barnacle, befuddle, behemoth, bejeebers, blabbermouth, blatherskite and 465 more...
-
learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1381 more...
-
roseandivy's list
mooncalf, wonted, gibbet, artless, noontide, blithe, glitterati, vorpal, soporific, moxie, pilfer, betwixt and between and 263 more...
-
norrell's Words
hush, dove, euphoria, nebulae, bryn mawr, darling, phoenix, nape, cream, butterscotch, cosmos, frost and 190 more...
-
5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
-
ifjuly's list
favorite words. some are made up injokes between me and my husband or family.
skein, zaftig, july, bed, orifice, aesthete, ink, parce-que, desormais, cake, pusillanimous, pulse and 531 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for scrimshaw.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.