scalping
- noun
- /ˈskælpɪŋ/
- Offensive
- His scalp prickled as he thought of the stories he'd listened to around the brigade campfire—tales of savage Indian attacks, scalping, and torture.
Examples
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Another officer called for "securing helpless and innocent women and children from the scalping knife." 71
Academic text (2014) -
The historical records describe the grisly act of scalping as a means of showing victory over enemies.
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Roughly 90 percent of the dead showed evidence of scalping, and indications of decapitation were seen in about 25 percent of the victims.
Academic text (1996) -
In his response to the killing and scalping of two white families by Creek Indians in 1812, Jackson writes that he was determined.
Academic text (1998) -
The most sensational aspect of the story—the brutal slaying and scalping of an Indian family by two English women and a boy—is conspicuously absent in this picture.
Academic text (1998) -
During the brutal battles, scalping became a notorious practice among rival tribes to claim trophies from one another.
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The museum exhibit displayed artifacts related to scalping, highlighting its significance in certain historical conflicts.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Scalping comes from the word scalp, which is the 'skin of the head'; in history people removed a scalp as a war trophy, so scalping means the act of taking that skin off.