1. The skin covering the top of the human head: Charlene went to the doctor for treatment of the excessive loss of hair from her scalp.
2. A portion of the skin that covered the top of the head with its attached hair, cut from a body especially as a battle trophy or as proof in claiming a bounty: Herman removed a piece from the scalp of the fox as evidence of killing it in order to collect a reward.
3. The act of cutting and tearing the hair and skin off the head of an enemy as a sign of victory; now often used figuratively: Because of Marcia's disrespectful behavior there is no doubt that her boss will be using the method of scalping or firing her.

1. To engage in the reselling of something; such as, tickets for a sports or musical event, etc.; usually, at a price higher than the established value: Last week Herman was scalping tickets to the latest rock concert and now he wants to scalp tickets to the basketball game.
2. To punish in a severe manner: The boss decided to scalp the employee who leaked corporate secrets to the competition.

1. From Latin scalpellum, scalprum, "knife, chisel"; from scalpere, "to cut, to carve, to scrape": A surgical knife for cutting tissue; scapels with steel blades are used for most surgical operations, but in some cases (for example, eye surgery) sharper diamond or ruby blades are used.
2. A small straight knife with a thin sharp blade used in surgery and dissection: Each student in the anatomy class was using a scalpel to dissect his or her animal corpse.

The scalpel that the surgeon uses to cut is simply a small, sharp knife, but it takes on a special meaning when summoned by the surgeon: Scalpel! This word is the signal that the operation is to begin.