Sclater

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A English surname, borne most famously by the nineteenth-century zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater who studied birds
2. A family name of English origin, best known through the zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater and his work on bird classification
3. The surname of an English family, most notable for the ornithologist Philip Lutley Sclater who named many species of birds

Etymology: Sclater is an English surname and a rare word for a person who lays or repairs roofing slates, a variant of the older word "slater." The form keeps an older spelling in which the medieval English word for this tradesman was written with a "c" and a "t" (Middle English "sclater," the same trade as "slater"). The extra letter is a spelling habit rather than a different root, so the two words are essentially one and the same. Because the word survived mainly as a family name, most readers meet it as a surname, not a trade term. Its meaning is simply that of the roofer who works with slate tiles, and it is a good example of how an occupational term can outlast its everyday use and become a name passed down through generations.