scan
English
Etymology
From Middle English scannen (“to mark off verse to show metrical structure”), from earlier *scanden, from Late Latin scandere (“to scan verse”), from Classical Latin scandō (“I climb, rise, mount”).
Pronunciation
Verb
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- (poetry, transitive) To read or mark so as to show a specific meter. [from 14th C.]
- to scan verse
- (intransitive) To conform to a metrical structure.
- 1998, Milton Acorn, Cedric Smith, edited by James Deahl, The Road to Charlottetown: A Play[1], UnMon Northland:
- You're right, sir, it doesn't scan very well in the English, but in the Gaelic it's sheer poetry. Have you the Gaelic?
- (transitive) To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely. [from 16th C.]
- She scanned the passage carefully but could not find what she was looking for.
- 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter ii:
- Yet the incident did not in the least diminish my respect for my teacher. I was by nature blind to the faults of elders. Later I came to know of many other failings of this teacher, but my regard for him remained the same. For I had learnt to carry out the orders of elders, not to scan their actions.
- (transitive) To look about for; to look over quickly. [from 19th C.]
- He scanned the horizon.
- (computing, transitive) To inspect, analyze or go over, often to find something.
- to scan the hard drive for errors
- (computing, transitive) To perform lexical analysis; to tokenize.
- (computing, transitive) To create a digital copy of an image using a scanner.
- to scan a photograph
- Pencil drawings don't scan very well.
- (computing, transitive) To read with an electronic device.
- (obsolete, transitive, originally) To mount by steps; to go through with step by step.
- 1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: Printed for John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza LXIII, page 36:
- But ere these matchless heights I dare to scan, / There is a spot should not be pass'd in vain,— / Morat ! the proud, the patriot field ! where man / May gaze on ghastly trophies of the slain, […]
Derived terms
Related terms
- (poetry): scansion
Translations
examine sequentially
|
create a digital copy of an image using a scanner
|
look about for
form a poetic metre
Noun
scan (plural scans)
- Close investigation. [from 1700s]
- (computing) An instance of scanning.
- The operators vacated the room during the scan.
- (computing) The result or output of a scanning process.
- The doctors looked at the scans and made a diagnosis.
Translations
instance of scanning
|
result or output of a scanning process
See also
Further reading
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “scan”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- “scan”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “scan”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “scan”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æn
- en:Poetry
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- en:Computing
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