scuff

Etymology 1

From Scots scuff (“to touch lightly, graze, hit”), of obscure origin. Perhaps from Old Norse skúfa (“to shove, push aside”), from Proto-Germanic *skeubaną (“to shove”). Or, perhaps imitative. More at English shove.

verb

1. To scrape the feet while walking.
2. To scrape and roughen the surface of (shoes, etc.)
3. To hit lightly, to brush against.
   The lawns and gardens had been scuffed away. 1979, V. S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River
   Wallace threw himself at it to connect with a flying header. He looked a certain scorer but his effort scuffed the inside of Fraser Forster’s post. December 29, 2011, Keith Jackson, “SPL: Celtic 1 Rangers 0”, in Daily Record
4. To mishit (a shot on a ball) due to poor contact with the ball.
   The Montenegro captain was finding space at will and followed up with a speculative shot that he scuffed wide, after Wales were slow in closing down the Juventus striker. September 2, 2011, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, in BBC

noun

1. (sometimes attributive) A mark left by scuffing or scraping.
   Someone left scuff marks in the sand.
   He flung his shoes across the room, their soles leaving black scuffs on the dingy wall. 2015, Charles W. Jones, Hydrangeas on the Lanai

Etymology 2

noun

1. A scurf; a scale.
2. The back part of the neck; the scruff.
   One of the biggest and most redoubted of the Black Family was now in that seat of dignity, and, refusing surlily to yield it at Jasper's rude summons, was seized by the scuff of the neck, and literally hurled on the table in front. 1858, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, What Will He Do with It?