Small pieces or fragments removed by scraping, or the residue left from a scraping action.
From the verb 'scrape' (from Old Norse 'skrapa' meaning to scrape or cut) plus '-ing' to create the gerund, then pluralized. The Norse origin shows the influence of Viking settlers on English.
Archaeologists and forensic scientists rely on 'scrapings'—the word for what most people would throw away—because microscopic scrapings can contain DNA, pollen, or soil that tells the entire story of a place or crime.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.