The Collaborative International Dictionary
Scuttle \Scut"tle\ (sk[u^]t"t'l), n. [OF. escoutille, F. ['e]scoutille, cf. Sp. escotilla; probably akin to Sp. escotar to cut a thing so as to make it fit, to hollow a garment about the neck, perhaps originally, to cut a bosom-shaped piece out, and of Teutonic origin; cf. D. schoot lap, bosom, G. schoss, Goth. skauts the hem of a garnment. Cf. Sheet an expanse.]
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A small opening in an outside wall or covering, furnished with a lid. Specifically:
(Naut.) A small opening or hatchway in the deck of a ship, large enough to admit a man, and with a lid for covering it, also, a like hole in the side or bottom of a ship.
An opening in the roof of a house, with a lid.
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The lid or door which covers or closes an opening in a roof, wall, or the like.
Scuttle butt, or Scuttle cask (Naut.), a butt or cask with a large hole in it, used to contain the fresh water for daily use in a ship.
--Totten.
Usage examples of "scuttle butt".
He then climbed down with this to the scuttle butt, outside the galley, inserted the gun barrel into the bunghole, and, having sucked up his drink, he was required to carry the drinking tube to the main top again.
This raised a laugh: many an officer first heard details of his captain's secret orders by way of the scuttle butt, which was the tub of water placed on deck, guarded by a Marine sentry, and from which the men could drink at set times during the day.
There the day's gossip was exchanged, and although the route the news travelled from the cabin to the scuttle butt was often devious, the news itself was nearly always accurate.