SCOUR
scour
(noun) a place that is scoured (especially by running water)
flush, scour, purge
(verb) rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid; “flush the wound with antibiotics”; “purge the old gas tank”
scrub, scour
(verb) clean with hard rubbing; “She scrubbed his back”
scour, abrade
(verb) rub hard or scrub; “scour the counter tops”
scour
(verb) examine minutely; “The police scoured the country for the fugitive”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
scour (third-person singular simple present scours, present participle scouring, simple past and past participle scoured)
(transitive) To clean, polish, or wash something by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.
(transitive) To remove debris and dirt by purging; to sweep along or off (by a current of water).
(transitive, veterinary medicine) To clear the digestive tract by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge.
(ambitransitive, veterinary medicine) To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery.
(transitive, obsolete) To cleanse (without rubbing).
Noun
scour (countable and uncountable, plural scours)
The removal of sediment caused by swiftly moving water.
A place scoured out by running water, as in the bed of a stream below a waterfall.
A place where wool is washed to remove grease and impurities prior to processing.
Etymology 2
Verb
scour (third-person singular simple present scours, present participle scouring, simple past and past participle scoured)
(transitive) To search an area thoroughly.
(ambitransitive) To run with speed; to scurry.
(ambitransitive) To move swiftly over; to brush along.
Anagrams
• Orcus, cours
Source: Wiktionary
Scour, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scoured; p. pr. & vb. n. Scouring.] Etym:
[Akin to LG. schĂĽren, D. schuren, schueren, G. scheuern, Dan. skure;
Sw. skura; all possibly fr. LL. escurare, fr. L. ex + curare to take
care. Cf. Cure.]
1. To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick,
especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make
clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, etc., as articles of
dress.
2. To purge; as, to scour a horse.
3. To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off; to carry
away or remove, as by a current of water; -- often with off or away.
[I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask, Which, washed away, shall
scour my shame with it. Shak.
4. Etym: [Perhaps a different word; cf. OF. escorre, escourre, It.
scorrere, both fr. L. excurrere to run forth. Cf. Excursion.]
Definition: To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search
thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. Pope.
Scouring barrel, a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling.
– Scouring cinder (Metal.), a basic slag, which attacks the lining
of a shaft furnace. Raymond.
– Scouring rush. (Bot.) See Dutch rush, under Dutch.
– Scouring stock (Woolen Manuf.), a kind of fulling mill.
Scour, v. i.
1. To clean anything by rubbing. Shak.
2. To cleanse anything.
Warm water is softer than cold, for it scoureth better. Bacon.
3. To be purged freely; to have a diarrhoea.
4. To run swiftly; to rove or range in pursuit or search of
something; to scamper.
So four fierce coursers, starting to the race, Scour through the
plain, and lengthen every pace. Dryden.
Scour, n.
Definition: Diarrhoea or dysentery among cattle.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition