Word: scout Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English scout, scoult, from Old French escoute (“action of listening”), verbal noun from escouter (“to listen, heed”), from Latin auscultō (“to listen”). The verb comes from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈskaʊ̯t/, /ˈskɐʊ̯t/, /ˈskʌʊ̯t/, /ˈskəʊ̯t/, /ˈskɜʊ̯t/ 1. A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground. 2. An act of scouting or reconnoitering. Example: while the rat is on the scout Example: May 6, 1883 […] This camp, the finest on this scout, has not so much running water as some of the others; […] May 7, 1883 […] Colonel Aguerre was going today or tomorrow with four hundred regular troops for a scout in the Sierra Madre […] 3. A member of any number of youth organizations belonging to the international scout movement, such as the Boy Scouts of America or Girl Scouts of the United States. Example: At the crack of dawn on Wednesday four different groups of scouts will climb the highest peaks in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to light flames and officially mark the start of the Paralympic torch relay. 4. A person who assesses or recruits others; especially, one who identifies promising talent on behalf of a sports team. Example: We have met twice this year and, during our first interview, Mata spoke evocatively when remembering how, having joined Real Oviedo aged 10 in 1998, he was given a previously unimaginable opportunity. Mata sat in a car park in 2003, when he was 14, and watched his father talking to a Real Madrid scout. 5. A person employed to monitor rivals' activities in the petroleum industry. 6. A housekeeper or domestic cleaner, generally female, employed by one of the constituent colleges of Oxford University to clean rooms; generally equivalent to a modern bedder at Cambridge University. Labels: modern 7. A domestic servant, generally male, who would attend (usually several) students in a variety of ways, including cleaning; generally equivalent to a gyp at Cambridge University or a skip at Trinity College, Dublin. Labels: historical Example: He has also been good enough to recommend to me many tradesmen who are ready to supply these articles in any quantities; each of whom has been here already a dozen times, cap in hand, and vowing that it is quite immaterial when I pay—which is very kind of them; but, with the highest respect for friend Perkins (my scout) and his obliging friends, I shall make some enquiries before "letting in" with any of them. 8. A fielder in a game for practice. Labels: UK 9. A fighter aircraft. Labels: UK, historical 10. A preliminary image that allows the technician to make adjustments before the actual diagnostic images. Example: A scout topogram is initially performed during continuous table motion, generating an anatomic overview image similar to a conventional radiograph at the locked projection. Example: It consisted of injecting an iodinated contrast agent while a breast was compressed in one projection after a scout film, taking several sequential films, and subtracting them from the scout film. 11. A term of address for a man or boy. Labels: informal Example: "Listen, old scout," Mr. Osborn said solemnly, "you think New York is heartless, but that's not what it is."