Meaning

noun container for coal; shaped to permit pouring the coal onto the fire

noun an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship

verb to move about or proceed hurriedly

originBorrowed from Middle French escoutille (compare French écoutille), from Old Norse skaut (“corner of a cloth, of a sail”), or alternatively from Spanish escotilla, ultimately from Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍄𐍃 (skauts, “projecting edge, fringe”), from Proto-Germanic *skautaz (“corner; wedge; lap”). Compare German Schoß, Old English sċēat. More at sheet.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0