Scale Is Three Words: A Ladder, a Bowl and a Fish Plate
Scale means a graded system, a weighing device, and a plate on a fish. All three come from different roots.
Scale covers a graded series, a weighing instrument, and one of the thin plates on a fish. Three separate origins meet in one spelling: the graded sense is Latin *scala*, a ladder, so a scale is a series of rungs; the weighing sense is Old Norse *skal*, a bowl, from the pans of a balance; the fish plate is Old French *escale*, a shell or husk. That first sense also gives *escalate* and *escalator*, both built on the ladder image.
- A graded series. *A scale of one to ten.*
- A weighing device. *Kitchen scales.*
- A plate on a fish. *Fish scales.*
- A musical sequence. *A major scale.*
- Latin — *scala*, a ladder. *One source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | scale | A scale. |
| Plural | scales | Scales. |
| Verb | scale | Scale the wall. |
| Related | escalate | Escalate. |
| Norse | skal | A bowl. |
- Rate it on a scale of one to five.Grading.
- Weigh it on the kitchen scales.Balance.
- He scaled the north face.Climbing.
Three unrelated scales
- Scale (ladder) — Latin *scala*: grading, maps, music, climbing
- Scale (balance) — Old Norse *skal*, a bowl or pan
- Scale (fish) — Old French *escale*, a shell or husk
- Escalate — from the ladder sense
- Scallop — from a Germanic word for shell, close to the third
Three roots: Latin *scala*, a ladder; Old Norse *skal*, a bowl; and Old French *escale*, a shell or husk.
Are the different scales the same word?
No. The graded scale, the weighing scale and the fish scale come from three separate roots that happen to share a spelling.
Why does scale also mean to climb?
From Latin scala, a ladder. To scale a wall is to go up it as if by ladder.