SCAN, v.t. [L. ascendo. See Ascend.]
1. To examine with critical care; to scrutinize.
The actions of men in high stations are all conspicuous, and liable to be scanned and sifted.
2. To examine a verse by counting the feet; or according to modern usage, to recite or measure verse by distinguishing the feet in pronunciation. Thus in Latin and Greek, a hexameter verse is resolved into six feet by scanning, and the true quantities are determined.
