¦ noun
1. a dry, rough protective crust that forms over a cut or wound during healing.
2. mange or a similar skin disease in animals.
any of a number of fungal diseases of plants in which rough patches develop, especially on apples and potatoes.
3. informal a person or thing regarded with contempt.
a person who refuses to strike or who takes the place of a striking worker.
¦ verb (scabs, scabbing, scabbed)
1. [usu. as adjective scabbed] become encrusted with a scab or scabs.
2. act or work as a scab.
Brit. informal scrounge.
Derivatives
scabbiness noun
scabby adjective
Origin
ME: from ON
skabb; related to dialect
shab (cf.
shabby).