scout

n. [ Icel. skūta to jut out. Cf. Scout to reject. ] A projecting rock. [ Prov. Eng. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Icel. skūta a taunt; cf. Icel. skūta to jut out, skota to shove, skjōta to shoot, to shove. See Shoot. ] To reject with contempt, as something absurd; to treat with ridicule; to flout; as, to scout an idea or an apology. “Flout 'em and scout 'em.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. escoute scout, spy, fr. escouter, escolter, to listen, to hear, F. écouter, fr. L. auscultare, to hear with attention, to listen to. See Auscultation. ] 1. A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information of the movements and condition of an enemy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Scouts each coast light-armèd scour,
Each quarter, to descry the distant foe. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A college student's or undergraduate's servant; -- so called in Oxford, England; at Cambridge called a gyp; and at Dublin, a skip. [ Cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Cricket) A fielder in a game for practice. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The act of scouting or reconnoitering. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

While the rat is on the scout. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A boy scout or girl scout (which see, above). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

Syn. -- Scout, Spy. -- In a military sense a scout is a soldier who does duty in his proper uniform, however hazardous his adventure. A spy is one who in disguise penetrates the enemies' lines, or lurks near them, to obtain information. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Scouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Scouting. ] 1. To observe, watch, or look for, as a scout; to follow for the purpose of observation, as a scout. [ 1913 Webster ]

Take more men,
And scout him round. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To pass over or through, as a scout; to reconnoiter; as, to scout a country. [ 1913 Webster ]