The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
SCOURING
scrub, scrubbing, scouring
(noun) the act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush and soap and water
scouring
(noun) moving over territory to search for something; “scouring the entire area revealed nothing”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Noun
scouring (plural scourings)
The act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush, soap and water.
Diarrhea. (Now used only of livestock, though also sometimes used of humans into the 1600s.)
Verb
scouring
present participle of scour
Anagrams
• coursing, sourcing
Source: Wiktionary
SCOUR
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
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
10 June 2025
COMMUNICATIONS
(noun) the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); “communications is his major field of study”
Coffee Trivia
