English
hammerscale
From hammer + scale.
Proto-Germanic *hamaraz ‘tool with a stone head’
Proto-West Germanic *hamar
Old English hamor
Middle English hamer ‘a hammer’
English hammer
Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kn̥d-sleh₂
Proto-Italic *skand-slā
Latin scāla ‘ladder; stairs’
Middle English scale ‘ladder’
English scale
Today it means
noun A small fragment dislodged from iron during forging.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / hammerscale