n. [Ulf. skauts = κράσπεδον, Matth. ix. 20, Mark vi. 56, Luke viii. 44; A. S. sceât; Engl. sheet; O. H. G. skoza; Germ. schoss; Dan. sköd]:—the sheet, i. e. the corner of a square cloth or other object; hann sá niðr síga dúk mikinn af himni með fjórum skautum, 656 C. 8 (Acts xi. 5); hann var borinn í fjórum skautum til búðar, Glúm. 395, Fbr. 95 new Ed.; var hann fluttr heim í fjórum skautum, Vígl. 24; feldr fimm álna í skaut, a cloak of five ells square, Korm. 86: of the heaven, þeir görðu þar af himinn ok settu hann yfir jörðina með fjórum skautum, with four ‘sheets,’ i. e. corners (east, west, north, south), Edda; whence himin-skaut, the airts, four quarters of the heavens; or heims-skaut, the poles, norðr-skaut or norðr-heims-skaut, the north pole; jarðar-skaut, the earth’s corner, outskirt of the earth, Edda (in a verse).

2. the sheet, i. e. the rope fastened to the corner of a sail, by which it is let out or hauled close, N. G. L. ii. 283; þeir létu landit á bakborða ok létu skaut horfa á land, Fb. i. 431; skautin ok líkin, Hem. (Gr. H. Mind. ii. 662): the phrase, beggja skauta byrr, a fair wind (right astern), Bs. ii. 48, freq. in mod. usage.

3. the skirt or sleeve of a garment; of a cloak, hann hafði rauða skikkju ok drepit upp skautunum, Fms. vii. 297, cp. Eb. 226; skikkju hlaðbúna í skaut niðr, Nj. 48, 169; hence, bera hlut í skaut, to throw the lot into the skirt of the cloak, Grág. i. 37, Eg. 347 (see hlutr; or is skaut here = a kerchief (skauti) tied together to make a purse?); ef fé liggr í skauti, Karl. 170: hann hafði und skauti sér leyniliga handöxi, Fms. x. 397: whence the phrases, hafa brögð undir skauti, of a cunning person (cp. hafa ráð undir hverju rifi), Bs. i. 730; hafa ráð und skauti, Sturl. i. 35 (in a verse); hann mun verða yðr þungr í skauti, heavy in the flap, hard to deal with, Fb. ii. 130: hence the bosom, Dan. skjöd (cp. Lat. sinus), hvern dag sitr hann ok liggr í hennar skauti, ok leikr sér, Mar.; Abrahams-skaut, Bible. A new-born infant used to be taken into the ‘skaut’ of his parents, and was thenceforth counted as legitimate; hence the phrases, sá maðr er borinn er skauta á meðal, skal taka slíkan rétt sem faðir hans hafði, N. G. L. i. 212: the same ceremony was also a token of adoption, þann mann skal leiða á rekks skaut ok rýgiar, 209; möttul-skaut, q. v.

4. of a head-dress, a hood, thrown round the head with the ends hanging down; klæði með hettu ok mjófu skauti bak ok fyrir, Mar.; skaut eða húfu, Karl. 60; síðfaldin skaut á höfði … lyptir hón skautinu brott ór höfðinu, id.; haf þat þér fyrir skaut ok höfuð-dúk, Stj. 127; kasta af höfði þér skautum ok höfuð-dúk, 208; krúsat skaut, D. N. iv. 359, 363; skaut, höfuð-dúkr, 217; kvenna-skaut, Bs. ii. 358; hálsa-skaut, a ‘neck-sheet,’ the flap of the hood, Vtkv. 12 (in a riddle); Ránar skaut, poët. of the waves, Edda (in a verse).

COMPDS: skautafaldr, skautasegl, skautasigling.