“Scantling,” meaning “a little bit of something,” comes from the Old French word “escantillon,” which means “sample.” Interestingly, the adjective “scant” (“barely sufficient or adequate”) does not share this root, even though the words look similar. “Scant” comes from the Old Norse word “skamt,” meaning “short.” In addition to describing a small volume of something, “scantling” can apply to measurements of all sizes in woodworking or building. It can be the size of a measured cut of wood or stone, but “scantling” is also used in shipbuilding for a set of standard dimensions. Use context clues to determine the correct version of “scantling.”