rebuke

Etymology

From Middle English rebuken, from Anglo-Norman rebuker (“to beat back, repel”), from re- + Old French *buker, buchier, buschier (“to strike, hack down, chop”), from busche (“wood”), from Vulgar Latin *busca (“wood, grove”), from Frankish *busk (“grove”), from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush”); equivalent to re- + bush.

noun

1. (of a person) A harsh criticism.
   There was the sternness of an old-fashioned Tour patron in his rebuke to the young Frenchman Pierre Rolland, the only one to ride away from the peloton and seize the opportunity for a lone attack before being absorbed back into the bunch, where he was received with coolness. 2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track”, in Guardian Unlimited

verb

1. (of a person) To criticise harshly; to reprove.