SCOUT (4)

Scout, n. [[OF. escoute scout, spy, fr. escouter, escolter, to listen, to hear, F. écouter, fr. L. auscultare, to hear with attention, to listen to. See Auscultation.]] 1. 1. A person sent out to gain and bring in tidings; especially, one employed in war to gain information of the movements and condition of an enemy.
Scouts each coast light-armèd scour, Each quarter, to descry the distant foe. Milton. 2. 2. A college student's or undergraduate's servant; — so called in Oxford, England; at Cambridge called a gyp; and at Dublin, a skip.
3. 3. (Cricket) A fielder in a game for practice.
4. 4. The act of scouting or reconnoitering.
While the rat is on the scout. Cowper. Syn. — Scout, Spy. — In a military sense a scout is a soldier who does duty in his proper uniform, however hazardous his adventure. A spy is one who in disguise penetrates the enemies' lines, or lurks near them, to obtain information.