The Collaborative International Dictionary
Scab \Scab\ (sk[a^]b), n. [OE. scab, scabbe, shabbe; cf. AS. sc[ae]b, sceabb, scebb, Dan. & Sw. skab, and also L. scabies, fr. scabere to scratch, akin to E. shave. See Shave, and cf. Shab, Shabby.]
An incrustation over a sore, wound, vesicle, or pustule, formed by the drying up of the discharge from the diseased part.
The itch in man; also, the scurvy. [Colloq. or Obs.]
The mange, esp. when it appears on sheep.
--Chaucer.A disease of potatoes producing pits in their surface, caused by a minute fungus ( Tiburcinia Scabies).
(Founding) A slight irregular protuberance which defaces the surface of a casting, caused by the breaking away of a part of the mold.
A mean, dirty, paltry fellow. [Low]
--Shak.A nickname for a workman who engages for lower wages than are fixed by the trades unions; also, for one who takes the place of a workman on a strike. [Cant]
(Bot.) Any one of various more or less destructive fungus diseases attacking cultivated plants, and usually forming dark-colored crustlike spots.