scour 
There is a low water depth of only about 4 ft., but this 
Is to be increased by about 20 ft. by dredging and scour. 
The Engineer, LXVUI. 452. 
2. A kind of diarrhea or dysentery among cat- 
tle or other animals; violent purging. 3. The 
material used in scouring or cleansing woolens, 
etc. 
The wool was then lifted out and drained, after which 
it was rinsed in a current of clean water to remove the 
scour, and then dried. Encyc. Brit, XXIV. 657. 
scour 2 (skour), r. [Early mod. E. also scower, 
scoivre; < ME. scouren, scoren, schouren, < OF. 
escourre, escorre, rush forth, run out, scatter, 
diminish, = It. scorrere, run over, run hither 
and thither, < L. excurrere, run out, run forth : 
see exevr, of which scour 2 is a doublet. Scour 
in these senses is generally confused with 
scour 1 . Hence sour (a var. of scour 2 ), scurry. 
Of. scourse 2 .] I. intrans. 1. To run with ce- 
lerity; scamper; scurry off or along. 
Hit is beter that we to heom schmcre. 
King Alisaunder, 1. 3722. 
In plesurys new your hert dooth score and raunge. 
Paston Letters, III. 185. 
The Moon was kind, and as we scoured by 
Shew'd us the Deed whereby the great Creator 
Instated her in that large Monarchy. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, i. 101. 
2. To rove or range for the purpose of sweep- 
ing or taking something. 
Barbarossa, scouring along the coast of Italy, struck an 
exceeding terror into the minds of the citizens of Borne. 
Knolles, Hist. Turks. 
II. trans. To run quickly over or along, espe- 
cially in quest or as if in quest of something. 
Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 372. 
We ventured out in parties to scour the adjacent coun- 
try. B. Franklin, Autobiog., p. 235. 
scourage (skour'aj), n. [< scour 1 + -fl</e.] Ref- 
use water after cleaning or scouring. 
scourer 1 (skour'er), n. [< scour 1 + -cr 1 .] 1. 
One who scours or cleans by rubbing or wash- 
ing. 2. A form of grain-cleaner in which 
smut, dust, etc., are removed from the berry 
by a rubbing action. E. H. Knight. 3. A 
drastic cathartic. 
scourer 2 ! (skour'er), . [Early mod. E. also 
scowerer ; < ME. "scourer, scorer; < scour 2 + 
-er 1 .] 1. One who runs with speed. 2. One 
who scours or roams the streets by night; a 
rover, robber, or footpad; specifically, one of 
a band of young scamps who, in the latter half 
of the seventeenth century, roamed the streets 
of London and committed various kinds of mis- 
chief. 
Bullies and scowerers of a long standing. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 324. 
Who has not heard the scowerer's midnight fame ? 
Who has not trembled at the Mohock's name? 
Gay, Trivia, iii. 325. 
scourge (skerj), n. [< ME. scourge, scourge, 
scorge, scurge, schorge, schurge, < OF. escorge, 
escurge, = It. scoreggia, a whip, scourge ; cf. 
the deriv. OF. escorgie, escurgie, escourgee, a 
whip, scourge, thong, latchet, F. escourgee, a 
scourge ; prob. < L. ex- intensive 4- corrigia, a 
thong, latchet for a shoe, LL. rein, < corrigere, 
make straight: see correct. In this view the 
Olt. scoriata, scoriada, Henrietta, sctiriada, It. 
scoriada, a whipping, a whip, scourge, is unre- 
lated, being connected with scorin, a whip, sco- 
riare, whip, lit. ' flay,' < L. excoriare, flay: see ex- 
coriate."] 1. A whip for the infliction of pain 
or punishment; a lash. See flagellwn, 1. 
A scourge; flageum, flagellum. Cath. Ang., p. 324. 
In hys sermon at on tyme he had a balys in hys hond, a 
nother tyme a schorge, the iijde tyme a Crowne of thorne. 
Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travel!, p. 3. 
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he 
drove them all out of the temple. John ii. 15. 
Hence 2. A punishment; a punitive afflic- 
tion; any means of inflicting punishment, 
vengeance, or suffering. 
Famine and plague . . . are sent as scourges for amend- 
ment. . 2 Esd. xvi. 19. 
Wars are the scourge of God for sin. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., To the Reader, p. 41. 
3. One who or that which greatly afflicts, har- 
asses, or destroys. 
The Nations which God hath made use of for a scourge 
to others have been remarkable for nothing so much as 
for the vertues opposite to the most prevailing vices 
among those who were overcome by them. 
Stttlingfleet, Sermons, I. x. 
scourge (skerj), v. t. ; pret. and pp. scourged, 
ppr. scourging. [< ME. scourgen, scorgen, 
schorgen, < OF. escorgier, esconrgier, eseorjier. 
whip, < escorge, a whip : see scourge, n.] 1. To 
5414 
whip with a scourge ; lash ; apply the scourge 
to. 
A philosophre upon a tyme . . . broghte a yerde to 
scour(g)e with the child. Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
From thens we went vnto ye hous of Pylate, in ye 
whiche our Sauyoure was ncorged, betyn, crowned with 
thorne. Sir R. Ouylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 29. 
Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman ? 
Acts xxii. 25. 
2. To punish with severity; chastise or cor- 
rect ; afflict for sins or faults, and for the pur- 
pose of correction. 
Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scouri/eth 
every son whom he receiveth. Heb. xii. 6. 
3. To afflict greatly ; harass; torment. 
Bashaws or governors have been allowed to scourge and 
impoverish the people. Brougham. 
scourger (sker'jer), . [< scourge + -er 1 .'] One 
who scourges or punishes; specifically, a 
flagellant. 
The sect of the scourgert[l. e. flagellants] broached sev- 
eral capital errours. .V. Timlal, tr. of Bapin's Hist. Eng. 
scourge-stick (skerj'stik), . A whip for a 
top. 
If they had R top, the scourge-stick and leather strap 
should be left to their own making. 
Locke, Education, 6 130. 
scouring (skour'mg),n. [Verbal n. of scowr 1 , r.] 
The act expressed by the verb to scour in its 
various senses. Specifically (o) In woolm-manuf., 
the process of beating a fabric in water to clean it from 
the oil and dirt Incident to the manufacture. The work 
is sometimes performed in a scouring-stock or scouring- 
machine. (6) The cleaning of metal as a preliminary pro- 
cess in electroplating or tin-plate making, (c) In hy- 
draul. engin., same mjlushiinj-. (d) A method of treating 
grain by rubbing and brushing in a grain-cleaner or 
scourer to free it from smut, mildew, etc. (e) In leather- 
manuf., a method of treating green hides to remove the 
flesh or the bloom. The hides are set closely on a slop- 
ing table, and treated with stiff brushes and water. (/) 
In angling, the freshening and reddening of angleworms 
for bait, by placing them for a while in clean sand, their 
wriggling in which rubs off the earth. 
scouring (skour'ing), p. a. Having an erosive 
action on the hearth of the furnace : said of 
slag which is very fusible and fluid when melt- 
ed, highly vitreous when cooled, also generally 
very silicious and ferruginous in composition. 
If the slag becomes more or less of a scouring character 
through incomplete reduction of considerable amounts 
of iron, notable quantities of phosphorus are ... present 
therein. Encyc. Brit., XIII. 296. 
scouring-ball (skour'ing-bal), . A ball com- 
bined of soap, ox-gall, and absorbent earth, 
used for removing stains of grease, paint, fruit, 
etc., from cloth. 
SCOuring-barrel (skour'ing-bar'el), n. A ma- 
chine in which scrap-iron or small articles of 
metal are freed from dirt and rust by friction. 
SCOUring-basin (skour'ing-ba'sn), n. A res- 
ervoir in which tidal water is stored up to a 
certain level, and let out from sluices in a rapid 
stream for a few minutes at low water, to scour 
a channel and its bar. E. H. Knight. 
scouring-drops (skour'ing-drops), n. pi. A 
mixture in equal quantities of essential oil of 
turpentine and oil of lemon-peel, used to re- 
move stains of grease, paint, fruit, etc.. from 
cloth. 
scouring-machine (skour'ing-ma-shen*), . In 
iroolen-muHuf., a machine for cleansing the 
cloth from oil and dirt. It consists of two large 
rollers by means of which the cloth is passed through a 
trough containing dung and stale urine. Compare scour- 
ing-stock. 
SCOUring-rusb. (skour'ing-rush), . One of the 
horsetails, Equigetum hieinale : so called on ac- 
count of its silicious coating, being used domes- 
tically and in the arts to polish wood and even 
metals. Other species may to some extent be so em- 
ployed and named. /-' ttieinale is reputed diuretic, and 
is used to some extent for dropsical diseases, etc. Also 
called shave-grass, and, as imported into England from 
the Netherlands, Dutch rush. See Equitetwn, horse-pipe, 
pewterwort. 
SCOUring-Stickr (skour'ing-stik), n. A rod used 
for cleaning the barrel of a gun: sometimes 
the ramrod, sometimes a different implement. 
SCOUring-Stock (skour'ing-stok), n. In woolen- 
manuf., an apparatus in which cloths are treated 
after weaving to remove the oil added to the 
wool before carding, and to cleanse them from 
the dirt taken up in the process of manufacture. 
The cloth is put into a trough containing a solution in wa- 
ter of hog's dung, urine, and soda or fullers' earth, and 
pounded with heavy oaken mallets which oscillate on an 
axis, and are lifted by tappet-wheels. Compare scouring- 
machine. 
SCOUring-table (skour'ing-ta"bl),i. In leatlier- 
manuf., a large strong table used for scouring. 
It has a top of stone or some close-grained wood, slightly 
inclined away from the workman so that the water may 
run off at the side opposite to him. 
scout 
SCOUTSe 1 (skors), t'. [Early mod. E. also scorse, 
scores, xcoss, dial, scoce; supposed by some to 
be an aphetic form of discourse, taken in the 
sense 'exchange words,' hence 'exchange, 
trade' (see discourse, v.). The word seems to 
have been used chiefly with ref. to trading in 
horses, and prob. arose by confusion from 
course*, also written coarse, and the orig. 
courser 2 , esp. in the comp. horse-courser, which 
alternated with horse-scourser : see course*, 
courser' 2 .] I. <ras. To exchange; barter; trade; 
swap: as, to scourse horses. 
I know the barber will scourse [the flddle] . . . away for 
some old cittern. 
Middleton, More Dissemblers'Besides Women, v. 1. 
In strength his equal, blow for blow they scarce. 
Drayton, Battle of Agincourt, p. 56. 
This done, she makes the stately dame to light, 
And with the aged woman cloths to scorse. 
Sir J. Harington, tr. of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, xx. 78. 
II. intrans. To make an exchange ; exchange ; 
trade. 
Or cruel, if thou canst not, let us scorse, 
And for one piece of thine my whole heart take. 
Drayton, Idea, Iii. 
Will you scourse with him? you are in Smithfleld ; you 
may fit yourself with a fine easy-going street-nag. 
n. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ill. 1. 
[Now only prov. Eng.] 
scourse 1 ! (skors), . [See scourse 1 , v."] Dis- 
course. [Rare.] 
Yet lively vigour rested in his mind, 
And recompenst them with a better scorse. 
Spenser, F. Q., H. ix. 55. 
scourse 2 ! (skors), r.t. [Early mod. E. alsoscorse; 
< OF. escourser, escorser, escourcier, escoreier, 
run, run a course, < L. excurrere, pp. excursus, 
runout: see scowr 2 , excursion. ] To run; scam- 
per; hurry; skurry. 
And from the country back to private farmes he scirrsed. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. ix. 3. 
scouse (skous), it. [Origin obscure.] Same as 
lobscouse. 
The cook had just made for us a mess of hot scouse. 
K. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 84. 
SCOUt 1 (skout), n. [Early mod. E. also spoilt, 
skowt; < ME. scoute, < OF", escoute, a spy, scout, 
watchman, F. faonte, a watch, lookout (= Sp. 
escucha = Pg. escuta = It. ascoltii, scotta, a spy, 
scout, watchman), < escovter, ascouter, escolter, 
esculter, F. dcouter = Pr. escoutar = OSp. asctt- 
char, Sp. escuchar = Pg. escutar = It. ascoltare, 
scoltare, listen, < L. auscultare, listen : see aus- 
cultate. Cf. schout.] 1. A person sent out to 
gain and bring in information ; specifically, one 
employed to observe the motions and obtain 
intelligence of the numbers of an enemy. 
Are not the speedy scouts return'd again 
That dogg'd the mighty army of the Dauphin? 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., iv. 3. 1. 
2t. A scouting party. 
Mount. What were those pass'd by ? 
Kncca. Some scout of soldiers, I think. 
M<nit. It may be well so, for I saw their horses. 
Beau, and !'!., Knight of Malta, iv. 2. 
3t. A spy; a sneak. 
I'll beg for you, steal for you, go through the wide world 
with you, and starve with you, for though I be a poor cob- 
ler's son I am no scout. 
Smollett, Roderick Random, xv. (Dames.) 
4. A college servant or waiter. [Oxford and 
Harvard universities.] 
No scout in Oxford, no gyp in Cambridge, ever matched 
him in speed and intelligence. 
Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xvi. 
5. In cricket, a fielder. 
It [the ball] fell upon the tip of the bat, and bounded 
far away over the heads of the scouts. 
Dickens, Pickwick, vii. 
6. The act of looking out or watching ; look- 
out; watch. 
While the rat is on the scout, 
And the mouse with curious snout. 
Cowper, The Cricket (trans X 
7. One of various birds of the auk family (Al- 
cidie) which are common on the British islands, 
as the razor-billed auk, the common or foolish 
guillemot, and the puffin or sea-parrot. 8t. In 
the Netherlands, a bailiff or magistrate. See 
schout. 
For their Oppidan Government, they [the I'nited Prov- 
inces] have Variety of Officers, a Scout. Bui gmastcrs, a 
Halue, and Vroetschoppens. The Scout is chosen by the 
States. Howell, Letters, I. ii. 15. 
scout 1 (skout), v. [< ME. sJcotrten; < scoutl, .] 
I. intrans. To observe or explore as a scout; 
watch the movements of an enemy. 
Ho [the dove) skyrmez vnder skwe & skou-tez aboute, 
Tyl hit waz nyse at the nast <fc Noe then sechez. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 483. 
