scour

Etymology 1

From Middle English scǒuren (“to polish, scour; to clean; to beat, whip”), from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren (“to clean; to polish”) or Middle Low German schǖren, of uncertain origin but probably from Old French escurer, from Medieval Latin scūrō, escūrō, excūrō (“to clean off”), from ex- (“prefix meaning ‘thoroughly’”) + cūrō (“to arrange, see to, take care of”), from cūra (“care, concern”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed”)) + -ō. The word is cognate with Danish skure, Middle High German schüren, schiuren (modern German scheuern (“to scour, scrub; to chafe”)), Norwegian skura (“to scrub”), Swedish skura, Catalan escurar.

verb

1. (transitive) To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.
   He scoured the burnt food from the pan.
   If tranſcribers and printers, or editors, will be perpetually varying from the ſpelling of their author, we ſhall neceſſarily have a conſtant ſource of corruption: for by this alteration, which inſenſibly goes on from ſmaller to greater things, that antique caſt is loſt, which of itſelf carries ſo venerable an aſpect; and our modern editors, in this reſpect, reſemble the officious ſervant of the late learned antiquary Dr. Woodward, who in ſcowering off the ruſt from an old ſhield, which his maſter had juſt purchaſed, made it more reſemble the new ſcowered cover of an old kettle, than the ſhield of an ancient heroe. 1751, John Upton, A Letter Concerning a New Edition of Spenser’s Faerie Queene. To Gilbert West, Esq., London: […] G. Hawkins,[…], →OCLC, section VI, page 36
   A light brown sand, of an exceeding fine grain, almost impalpable, from the river Sullane, near New-bridge, where it is found in plenty. It scours brass without scratching, cleans silver, and is excellent for casting the finer works, both of the brazier and silversmith. 1815, Charles Smith, “Of the Most Remarkable Fossils Discovered in this County”, in The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork.[…], new edition, volume II, Cork, Munster, Ireland: […] John Connor,[…], →OCLC, paragraph 2, page 391
2. (transitive) To remove debris and dirt (from something) by purging; to sweep along or off by a current of water.
   It has already been explained that the ebb tide in the Hooghly is a much more powerful scouring agent than the flood tide, that the tide therefore should be used for scouring a channel in preference to the flood whenever it is practicable to use it, hence it is to the body of ebbing water that scours out the fine channel from Akelmeg to Crossing Creek that attention will be principally directed, and not to the flood that scours the channel near the Roopnarain entrance. 1865, Hugh Leonard, “Upper Section.—The James and Mary Shoals.”, in Report on the River Hooghly, … Bengal, 1865, London: […] George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, printers to the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, →OCLC, paragraph 92, page 28
3. (transitive, veterinary medicine) To clear the digestive tract (of an animal) by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge.
   to scour a horse
4. (transitive, intransitive, veterinary medicine) To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery.
   If a lamb is scouring, do not delay treatment.
   It has been stated by trustworthy authorities that certain waters in the lias-formation possess scouring properties. […] Mr. Clarke likewise mentions two cases. "In one instance," he says, "a large piece of pasture-land was found to scour the cows kept upon it, to the great loss of the occupier, until he hit upon the expedient of cutting off the supply of spring-water from a neighbouring brook, and confining the supply to the rain-water held in the ditches,—the result of which has been that very little of the disorder has since appeared upon the land referred to.[…]" 1862, Augustus Voelcker, “X.—On the Scouring Lands of Central Somerset. … [Report of an Investigation Made at the Request of the Council of the Bath and West of England Society.]”, in Journal of the Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, volume X, part I, London: James Ridgway,[…], →OCLC, section 3 (Examination of the Water Theory), page 191
5. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To cleanse (something) without rubbing.
   Flanders soap is the substance which appeared to act in the most advantageous manner; it scowers very speedily, and gives wool a degree of whiteness which it is extremely difficult to produce by any other means. 1805 August, Bouillon Lagrange, “Extract from a Memoir on the Steeping of Wool, and the Influence of Its Different States on Dyeing.[…]”, in The Repertory of Arts, Manufactures, and Agriculture, volume XXXIX (Second Series), London: Printed for J. Wyatt,[…], →OCLC, page 222

noun

1. The removal of sediment caused by swiftly moving water.
   Bridge scour may scoop out scour holes and compromise the integrity of the structure.
   The general manner of working this sluice is to take in every alternate tide during the high tides in dry weather, and to let them off for scours for the harbour. In wet weather, or during neap tides, no scours are kept back, nor is it of any consequence to the harbour if no tides are suffered to pass up through the sluice at such times. 1845, John Meryon, “An Account of the Origin and Formation of the Harbour of the Ancient Town of Rye;[…]”, in John Weale, editor, Quarterly Papers on Engineering, volume IV, number VII, London: John Weale[…], →OCLC, Section IV (Of the Four Sluices, and on Their Comparative Good and Evil Effects on Their Respective Channels. Of the Alleged Danger of an Open Channel. Of the Wicked Perversion of Harbour Funds to Individual Profit.), page 77
   It is believed that scour, caused by record river flows as a result of snow melt and heavy rainfall, triggered the collapse of the Yellowstone Twin River Bridges in Stillwater County, Montana, on June 24. July 12 2023, “Network News: US bridge collapse highlights dangers of river scour”, in RAIL, number 987, page 11
2. A place scoured out by running water, as in the bed of a stream below a waterfall.
   Fish as near the middle of the stream as you can in the spring months, and also on the shallows and scowers; but in the winter, in deep holes; let the bait drag two or three inches on the ground. 1825, Pierce Egan, “The Chub, or Chevin”, in Sporting Anecdotes, Original and Selected;[…], new considerably enlarged and improved edition, London: […] Sherwood, Jones and Co.[…], →OCLC, page 220
   Trout always have a recognised home of their own, inhabited by a pretty fixed number of individuals. If you catch the two sole denizens of a particular scour, you will find another pair installed in their place to-morrow. 1881, Grant Allen, “Speckled Trout”, in The Evolutionist at Large, London: Chatto & Windus,[…], →OCLC, pages 115–116
3. A place where wool is washed to remove grease and impurities prior to processing.
   I am particularly interested in the wool processing indusries, which make a major contribution to the Hawke's Bay regional economy. There are five wool scours in the area, all of them located within the Hawke's Bay electorate. […] I am pleased to report that the prototype Drycom system was given its first full trial at the UEB Awatoto scour in Hawke's Bay. 19 September 1984, Bill [William David] Sutton, “Address in Reply”, in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): First Session, Forty-first Parliament, 1984: House of Representatives, volume 457, Wellington: P. D. Hasselberg, government printer, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 327

Etymology 2

From Middle English scǒuren, scure, skoure (“to move quickly; to travel around in search of enemies”), from scǒur (“attack, conflict; pang of emotional suffering”), from Old Norse skýra (“to rush in”) and skúr (“a shower; a shower of missiles”), perhaps influenced by the verb scǒuren: see etymology 1.

verb

1. (transitive) To search an area thoroughly.
   They scoured the scene of the crime for clues.
2. (intransitive) To run with speed; to scurry.
3. (transitive) To move swiftly over; to brush along.
   We near him! We near him [an ostrich]! Ah, laggard, 'tis vain / That with rapid feet casting the dusty clouds back, / In circles wide wheeling, thou scourest the plain, / For Ayoud, untiring, is close on thy track. 1844 March, W[illiam] S[tarbuck] Mayo, “The Bedouin”, in The United States Magazine and Democratic Review, volume XIV, number LXIX, Washington, D.C.: Langtree & [John Louis] O'Sullivan, →OCLC, page 290