Scuttering

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of moving quickly with a hasty or scuttling motion can describe both small creatures and the sound produced during such movement
2. This expression refers to a rapid, often erratic motion typical of certain animals and can also symbolize urgency or fleeting actions
3. A hurried movement characterized by a quick, shuffling pace can apply to both the behavior of animals and the simultaneous noise made while moving

Etymology: "Scuttering" is the present participle of "scutter," a verb meaning to hurry along quickly, usually with short, scurrying steps. The verb is an alteration of "scuttle," which describes the same kind of quick, hurried movement, and it may also have been influenced by "squitter," a word for darting about or moving in a jittery way. Because "scutter" is a variant of "scuttle," the two words share a family resemblance in sound and sense. "Scuttle" in turn is the older and more widely known form, so "scutter" can be understood as a slightly looser, more informal cousin of it, with the same picture of small, rapid movements.

Synonyms: scurrying, skittering