scute

Etymology

From Latin scutum (“shield”)

Noun

scute (plural scutes)

1. (zoology) A horny, chitinous, or bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle or the skin of crocodiles.
   • 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 71:

     Then one afternoon, as he's stripping the scutes and hide from a shortnose sturgeon, an idea hits him.

2. (genetics) A proneural gene, often associated with achaete, that is required for the formation of many larval and adult sense organs
3. (obsolete) A small shield.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Skelton to this entry?)

4. (historical) An old French gold coin.

Anagrams

• Cetus, cutes