In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
eroded, scoured
(adjective) worn away as by water or ice or wind
Source: WordNet® 3.1
scoured
simple past tense and past participle of scour
• cedrous, coursed, sourced
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
31 March 2025
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.