SCARF

v. & n. --v.tr. join the ends of (pieces of esp. timber, metal, or leather) by bevelling or notching them to fit and then bolting, brazing, or sewing them together; cut the blubber of (a whale). --n. 1 a joint made by scarfing. 2 a cut on a whale made by scarfing. [ME (earlier as noun) prob. f. OF escarf (unrecorded) perh. f. ON]