Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SCANT'LING, n. [Fr. echantillon, a pattern; Sp. escantillon; Port. escantilham.]

1. A pattern; a quantity cut for a particular purpose. – L'Estrange.
2. A small quantity; as, a scantling of wit. – Dryden. Locke.
3. A certain proportion or quantity. – Shak.
4. In the United States, timber sawed or cut into pieces of a small size, as for studs, rails, &c. This seems to be allied to the 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. – Mar. Dict.