scuttle
Meaning
to run with quick, short steps, especially because you are afraid or do not want to be noticed
to deliberately cause a plan, agreement, etc. to fail
a container with a handle, used for carrying coal
Usage
A crab scuttled away under a rock as we approached.
The opposition party accused the government of trying to scuttle the peace talks.
He filled the scuttle with fresh coal for the fireplace.
Etymology
The verb 'scuttle' meaning 'to run hurriedly' is of uncertain origin, possibly related to the dialectal verb 'scuddle', a frequentative form of 'scud'. The nautical verb 'scuttle', meaning 'to sink a ship by making holes in it', and by extension 'to deliberately ruin a plan', comes from the Spanish 'escotilla' or the French 'escoutille', meaning 'hatchway'. The act of opening the hatches to sink a ship led to the figurative sense of sabotaging an endeavor. The noun for a coal container is a separate word, derived from Old Norse 'skutill', related to a drinking bowl or pail, showing how distinct historical paths can converge on an identical modern spelling.
Analysis
This word is a simplex. It is a loanword and its modern spelling does not transparently reflect separable, meaningful morphemes from its source languages.