scrip

Etymology 1

From Middle English scrippe, an aphetism of Old French escrepe (“purse, alms-bag”), a variant of escharpe, from Old Norse skreppa. Cognate with Danish skreppe (“scrip”), Norwegian skreppa (“bag”). Doublet of scarf.

noun

1. A small medieval bag used to carry food, money, utensils etc.
   Depositing his scrip in the outhouse the cowherd glanced around. 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 9
   A night promising fair, scented, the moon in her third quarter, nightingales in the wood, WS, in worn cloak against the morning’s chill, empty scrip and purse, taking the road. 1964, Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun
2. (archaic) Small change.
   In reading it in 1899, I am afraid that the readers of a hard, money generation may not know that "scrip" was in the sixties the name for small change. 1899, Edward Everett Hale, The Brick Moon and Other Stories, (Short Story Index Reprint Series), Project Gutenberg, [1999], Etext #1633

Etymology 2

Probably from a conflation of script and scrap.

noun

1. A scrap of paper.
2. A document signifying a power to obtain a specified acreage of public land.
   Each unit of scrip you buy entitles you to one acre of the choicest land in North America. 2014, James A. Michener, Texas: A Novel, page 369
   According to the act, the beneficiary states could not locate the land; they were obliged to sell scrip to individuals, entitling them to choose lands as yet unlocated. 2014, Morris Bishop, A History of Cornell
   For instance, Angelique Bottineau Ouellette had her name added to the list of half-breeds seeking scrip under the terms of the 1854 treaty between the U.S. government and the Lake Superior and Mississippi Chippewa. 2015, Michel Hogue, Metis and the Medicine Line, page 112
   Then in 1858 he sent John White, Webster's former neighbour, to Hokianga to supervise the investigation and survey of the scrip claims; that is, those areas of land for which scrip had been granted in the 1840s and which the Crown now claimed to own. 2015, Jennifer Ashton, At the Margin of Empire: John Webster and Hokianga, 1841–1900
3. A voucher or token coin used in place of legal tender for payment of wages.
   A grievance that was both economic and psychological was the practice, common in some mills, especially prior to 1890, of paying in scrip that had to be redeemed for goods at a company store. 2012, Paul D. Escott, Many Excellent People, page 232
   He even forces Tim to give up his lessons at the WIDOW SMACK'S COTTAGE, so that he can earn a little in scrip from the TREE SAWMILL. 2012, Robin Furth, Stephen King's The Dark Tower Concordance
   The new interior secretary also hastened to resolve the long simmering dispute over the payment of scrip to the dam workers. 2014, Joseph E. Stevens, Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
4. A substitute for legal tender that is produced by a local government or a private organization.
   His actions provide a blueprint for crisis control that merits attention today. All these fiscal achievements removed most of the need for local scrip, accounting for the very few issues found in this section of the catalog. 2013, Neil Shafer, Tom Sheehan, Panic Scrip of 1893, 1907 and 1914, page 337
   You look at your forty pieces of scrip, and you think: 'Hmm. That's only ten hours of prime-time babysitting. That's not much. I was thinking of taking my partner out for a meal and a movie this weekend, but that would use up five or six hours. What if next week we got invited to some important social event at the last minute, and we didn't have enough scrip left to get emergency babysitting? On reflection, we'd better not go out this weekend. Instead, let's first put in a couple of evenings of babysitting to build up our reserves of scrip. 2013, Tim Harford, The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: The Babysitting Recession
   The issue and availability of true factional notes by the United States government, such as 10-cent and 25-cent notes, etc., did not eliminate the need for locally issued small scrip until the spring of 1863. 2014, Steve Whitfield, Kansas Paper Money: An Illustrated History, 1854–1935, page 69
   Dividends may be made in the form of cash, property, or scrip. 2014, Joanne M. Flood, Wiley GAAP 2015, page 568
   Many states permit a corporation to issue scrip certificates in lieu of fractional shares, with holders being entitled to combine their certificates—"to round them up"—in amounts aggregating a full share and to exchange them for a full share certificate. 2020, Arthur M. Borden, Joel A. Yunis, Going Private, page 3-6

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of subscription receipt.

noun

1. A share certificate.

Etymology 4

Abbreviation of prescription.

noun

1. (informal, Britain, US) A medical prescription.