Scalle

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a scabby, scurfy disease of the scalp, especially one affecting the hair and skin of the head
2. A old name for a crusty skin condition on the scalp that causes scabs, scaling and hair loss
3. Historically, a scaly, itchy infection of the head that was once used to describe various scalp disorders

Etymology: "Scall" is a Middle English word for a scabby or scurfy skin disease, especially of the scalp, and it was borrowed from Old Norse "skalli", meaning a bald head or a bald man. The Norse term itself is a descriptive word for baldness, and the disease took its name from the flaky, bare patches it left on the head. That link between a bald pate and a skin complaint is the whole story of the word. English speakers used "scall" in medical and rural contexts for centuries, and it appears in medieval remedy books and in the vocabulary of early physicians. The word belongs to a northern layer of English vocabulary that came in through Viking-age contact, alongside words like "skull" and "skin", which share a Scandinavian background.

Synonyms: scurf, scab