Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Scuttle \Scut"tle\, n. [OF. escoutille, F. ['e]scoutille, cf.
   Sp. escotilla; probably akin to Sp. escoter to cut a thing so
   as to make it fit, to hollow a garment about the neck,
   perhaps originally, to cut a bosom-shaped piece out, and of
   Teutonic origin; cf. D. schoot lap, bosom, G. schoss, Goth.
   skauts the hem of a garnment. Cf. {Sheet} an expanse.]
   1. A small opening in an outside wall or covering, furnished
      with a lid. Specifically:
      (a) (Naut.) A small opening or hatchway in the deck of a
          ship, large enough to admit a man, and with a lid for
          covering it, also, a like hole in the side or bottom
          of a ship.
      (b) An opening in the roof of a house, with a lid.

   2. The lid or door which covers or closes an opening in a
      roof, wall, or the like.

   {Scuttle butt}, or {Scuttle cask} (Naut.), a butt or cask
      with a large hole in it, used to contain the fresh water
      for daily use in a ship.