Scrimshaw
//ˈskɹɪmʃɔː// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small ornamental handicraft created by carving or engraving bone (originally whalebone or whales' teeth), ivory, or other materials, formerly produced by sailors on whaling ships to pass the time on long voyages. also, attributive, countable
"Rooney got his skull exposed, doggone it Soon he's gonna get scrimshaw carved on it"
- 2 a carving (or engraving) on whalebone, whale ivory, walrus tusk, etc., usually by American whalers wordnet
- 3 The manufacture of small ornamental handicrafts by carving or engraving bone, ivory, or other materials, formerly by sailors on whaling ships to pass the time on long voyages. also, attributive, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To create (a small ornamental handicraft also called a scrimshaw) by carving or engraving on bone (originally whalebone or whales' teeth), ivory, or other materials. transitive
- 2 To carve or engrave (bone, ivory, or other materials) with ornamental designs. transitive
- 3 To carve or engrave (ornamental designs) on bone, ivory, or other materials. transitive
- 4 To make a handicraft of scrimshaw. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"Rooney got his skull exposed, doggone it Soon he's gonna get scrimshaw carved on it"
Etymology
The origin of the verb is unknown, but it has possibly been influenced by the surname Scrimshaw. Various etymologies have been proposed (for example, that it derives from scrimshank (“(Britain, military slang) to be idle, to shirk duty”)), but the Oxford English Dictionary does not consider any of them convincing. The noun is probably derived from the verb.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.