Webster's 1828 Dictionary
SCANTLING
n. 1. A pattern; a quantity cut for a particular purpose.
2. A small quantity; as a scantling of wit.
3. A certain proportion or quantity.
4. In the United States, timber sawed or cut into pieces of a small size, as for studs, rails, etc. This seems to be allied to the L. scandula, and it is the sense in which I have ever heard it used in this country.
5. In seamen's language, the dimensions of a piece of timber, with regard to its breadth and thickness.
SCANTLING
a.Not plentiful; small. [Not in use. ]
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
SCANTLING
Scant "ling, a. Etym: [See Scant, a.]
Defn: Not plentiful; small; scanty. [Obs. ] Jer. Taylor.
SCANTLING
Scant "ling, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. eschantillon, F. échantillon, a sample, pattern, example. In some senses confused with scant insufficient. See Scantle, v. t.]
1. A fragment; a bit; a little piece. Specifically: (a ) A piece or quantity cut for a special purpose; a sample. [Obs. ] Such as exceed not this scantling; -- to be solace to the sovereign and harmless to the people. Bacon. A pretty scantling of his knowledge may taken by his deferring to be baptized so many years. Milton.
(b ) A small quantity; a little bit; not much. [Obs. ] Reducing them to narrow scantlings. Jer. Taylor.
2. A piece of timber sawed or cut of a small size, as for studs, rails, etc.
3. The dimensions of a piece of timber with regard to its breadth and thickness; hence, the measure or dimensions of anything.
4. A rough draught; a rude sketch or outline.
5. A frame for casks to lie upon; a trestle. Knight.
New American Oxford Dictionary
scantling
scant ling |ˈskantliNG ˈskæntlɪŋ | ▶noun 1 a piece of lumber of small cross section. • the size to which a piece of wood or stone is measured and cut. 2 (often scantlings ) a set of standard dimensions for parts of a structure, esp. in shipbuilding. 3 archaic a specimen, sample, or small amount of something. ORIGIN early 16th cent. (denoting prescribed size, or a set of standard dimensions ): alteration of obsolete scantillon (from Old French escantillon ‘sample ’), by association with the suffix -ling .
Oxford Dictionary
scantling
scant |ling |ˈskantlɪŋ | ▶noun 1 a timber beam of small cross section. • the size to which a piece of timber or stone is measured and cut. 2 (often scantlings ) a set of standard dimensions for parts of a structure, especially in shipbuilding. 3 archaic a specimen, sample, or small amount of something. ORIGIN early 16th cent. (denoting prescribed size, or a set of standard dimensions ): alteration of obsolete scantillon (from Old French escantillon ‘sample ’), by association with the suffix -ling .
Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary
scantling
scant ling /skǽntlɪŋ /名詞 C 小角材 ; U 小角材類 .
The Wordsmith Dictionary