Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SCALE, v.t. [It. scalare, from scala, a ladder.]

1. To climb, as by a ladder; to ascend by steps; and applied to the walls of a fortified place, to mount in assault or storm. Oft have I scal'd the craggy oak. – Spenser.
2. [from scale, a balance.] To measure; to compare; to weigh. Scaling his present bearing with his past. – Shak.
3. [from scale, the covering of a fish.] To strip or clear of scales; as, to scale a fish.
4. To take off in thin lamins or scales.
5. To pare off a surface. If all the mountains were scal'd, and the earth made even. – Burnet.
6. In the north of England, to spread, as manure or loose substances; also, to disperse; to waste.
7. In gunnery, to clean the inside of a cannon by the explosion of a small quantity of powder. – Mar. Dict.