SCALE (1) A

This article appears in Volume V24, Page 283 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SAR-SCY

SCALE (1) A small thin flake,

plate

PLATE

or shell. The word. in O. Eng. is sceale, so bean-sceale, the husk or pod of a bean; cognate forms are found in Ger. Schale, O.H.G. Scale, from which the O. Fr. escale, modern gcale, is borrowed. The ultimate root is seen in the closely allied " shell," and also in skull, scalp, shale and skill, and means to peel off,

separate

SEPARATE

, divide. The word is used specifically (1) in botany, of the rudimentary flake-like leaf forming the covering of the leaf-buds of deciduous trees and of the bracts of the

cone

CONE (Gr. Kwvos)

in conifers; (2) in

zoology

ZOOLOGY (from Gr. Nov, a living thing, and ?byos, theory)

, of the flat, hard structures of the epidermis or exoskeleton in fishes, reptiles. Thus in ichthyology the various types of scales are classed as cycloid (Gr. abaor, circle), where the growth is in layers, equally from the anterior and posterior edges; ctenoid (Gr. KTIv, comb), where the posterior edge is toothed; ganoid (Gr. yavor, shining), with a hard enamelled surface and usually rhomboidal in shape, and placoid (Gr. irXii , tablet), as in the ossified papillae of the cutis of the shark. In reptiles the term is applied to the structures which form the covering of the true reptiles,

snakes

SNAKES

and lizards. In entomology the downy covering
au-apended cradle baaf
of the wings of lepidoptera consists of minute scales, really modifications of hairs, covered with fine lines, giving the

bright

BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-188g)
BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON

colours. Another form in O. Eng. scale is found glossing the Lat. lanx, flat bowl or dish, and is thus used of the dishes or cups of a

balance

BALANCE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. bilantia, an apparatus for weighing, from bi, two, and lanx, a dish or scale)

(bilanx), the

instrument

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

itself being also called " scales."
2. Properly a ladder, flight of steps, now only used in the derived " scaling ladder." The word is derived from the Lat. scala (originally scandla, from scandere to climb). There are many transferred senses of the word, e.g. the distinguishing marks for purposes of measurement on a

rule

RULE

or other measuring

instrument

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

; hence a graduated measure or a system of proportional measurement or numeration, and particularly, in music, a

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of tones at definite standard intervals (see HARMONY, MUSICAL NOTATION).

End of Article: SCALE (1) A

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SAR_SCY/SCALE_1_A.html">
SCALE (1) A
</a>

(Previous)
SCALE

(Next)
SCALE 200

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email