A Scab Is a Natural Dressing Made of Dried Blood
A scab is a crust over a healing wound. It also means a worker who crosses a picket line.
A scab is the dry crust that forms over a healing wound, and in labour disputes a worker who works during a strike. The crust is a natural dressing: platelets clump at the injury and a mesh of fibrin traps blood cells, which dries into a seal that keeps out bacteria while new skin grows beneath. Picking it off removes the protection and increases the chance of a scar. The labour sense dates from the 1700s, from an older use of scab meaning a contemptible person.
- A wound crust. *A healing scab.*
- A strikebreaker. *Called a scab.*
- A plant disease. *Apple scab.*
- To form a crust. *Scabbing over.*
- Old Norse — *skabb*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | scab | A scab. |
| Plural | scabs | Scabs. |
| Verb | scab | Scabbing. |
| Adjective | scabby | Scabby. |
| Related | scabies | Scabies. |
- The scab fell off.Healing.
- They were called scabs.Labour.
- Apple scab ruined the crop.Disease.
How a scab forms
- Platelets clump at the wound and release signalling chemicals
- Fibrin forms a mesh that traps red blood cells
- The clot dries into a hard protective crust
- New skin grows beneath it
- The scab detaches once the skin underneath is complete
Old Norse *skabb*, a scab or itch, related to Latin *scabies*.
Why should you not pick a scab?
It removes the protective seal over healing tissue, letting in bacteria and increasing the chance of scarring.
Why is a strikebreaker called a scab?
From an older insult meaning a contemptible person, applied in labour disputes from the 1700s.