What is "scuttle cask"

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.]

1. A small opening in an outside wall or covering, furnished with a lid. Specifically:

   1. (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.

   2. An opening in the roof of a house, with a lid.

2. 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.