I. ˈskəd verb
( scudded ; scudded ; scudding ; scuds )
Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian skudda to push, thrust; akin to Old English hūdenian to shake — more at quash
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move or run swiftly especially as if driven forward
a brisk wind sending small white clouds scudding across the … sky — Osbert Lancaster
freezing weather that sent the delegates and their briefcases scudding — Mollie Panter-Downes
b. : to run before a gale
2. of an arrow : to fly too high and off the proper course
transitive verb
1. archaic : to pass over quickly
the startled red deer scuds the plain — Sir Walter Scott
2. : to cause to scud
scudded the jeep back on the paving — S.L.Rubinstein
3. : to shake (herring) from a net
II. noun
( -s )
1. : the act of scudding : a driving along : rush
following her in a scud came the servants and helpers — Virginia Woolf
2.
a. : loose vapory clouds or fragments of cloud driven swiftly by the wind
b. : something resembling scud: as
(1) : a slight sudden shower
(2) : a gust of wind
(3) : mist, rain, snow, or spray driven by the wind
a strong easterly gale was driving scuds of rain and torn leaves across the … lawns — Margaret Irwin
a strong wind … whipping up a scud of whitecaps on the bay — Wright Morris
the air was flecked with a scud of white specks — Hugh MacLennan
3. : an amphipod crustacean (as a beach flea)
III. transitive verb
( scudded ; scudded ; scudding ; scuds )
Etymology: obsolete English scud dirt, refuse, probably blend English scum (I) and mud (I)
: to scrape (a depilated and trimmed hide or skin) in order to remove undesirable matter (as remaining hairs or lime)
IV. noun
( -s )
: the matter that is worked out of hides or skins in scudding