scaly

Etymology

From Middle English scali, skaly, equivalent to scale + -y.

adj

1. Covered or abounding with scales.
   a scaly fish  a scaly stem
2. Composed of scales lying over each other.
   a scaly bulb
3. Resembling scales, laminae, or layers.
4. (dated, vulgar or South Africa) low, mean.
   a scaly fellow
   This done, he removed the hat; and having touched his forehead lightly with a silk handkerchief, for the afternoon sun was warm, gazed about him with a grave distaste. “A scaly neighbourhood!” he murmured. The young man’s judgment was one at which few people with an eye for beauty would have cavilled. 1923, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter II, in Leave It to Psmith

noun

1. (South Africa) The scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis).