Definition of scull

The word "scull" has an interesting origin which dates back to the 16th century. In Old English, the word "scal" referred to a bowl or a vessel used for drinking. When the French word "cuiller," meaning spoon in English, was adopted into Middle English, it led to the creation of the word "skeloun" in Old English, which meant a shallow dish used for drinking or serving food. Over time, the word "skeloun" evolved into "scalyon" in Middle English, and later on, into "scullyn" in Early Modern English, which meant a shallow dish with a handle used for serving liquids or thin soups. The term "scully" emerged as a variation of "scullyon" or "scullynn" in the late 1500s, and it originally described a small, deep dish used for drinking ale or beer. It's unclear how the word "scull" came into use, but some theories suggest that it might be a corruption of "scullyn" or a diminutive form of "scully." Whatever its origins, the word "scull" came to be more commonly associated with the kitchen and cooking, specifically, a shallow, round or oval dish used for preparing and serving food. Today, the term "scull" is still used in professional kitchens to describe a dish that is primarily used for cooking or serving food, such as a metal or ceramic dish used for cooking rice or a shallow wooden board used for serving bread or seafood. So, whether you're serving hot soup or digging into a plate of seafood, chances are you're enjoying it in a scull or some variant of the dish.