Scourge definition | Dictionary.com

scourge

[skurj]

noun, verb, scourged, scourg⋅ing.

–noun

1.	a whip or lash, esp. for the infliction of punishment or torture.

2.	a person or thing that applies or administers punishment or severe criticism.

3.	a cause of affliction or calamity: Disease and famine are scourges of humanity.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to whip with a scourge; lash.

5.	to punish, chastise, or criticize severely.

Origin:
1175–1225; (n.) ME < AF escorge, deriv. of escorgier to whip < VL *excorrigiāre, deriv. of L corrigia thong, whip (see ex- ¹ ); (v.) ME < OF escorgier

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

scourge (skûrj) Pronunciation Key
n.

A source of widespread dreadful affliction and devastation such as that caused by pestilence or war.
A means of inflicting severe suffering, vengeance, or punishment.
A whip used to inflict punishment.

tr.v. scourged, scourg·ing, scourg·es

To afflict with severe or widespread suffering and devastation; ravage.
To chastise severely; excoriate.
To flog.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman escorge, from Old French escorgier, to whip, from Vulgar Latin *excorrigiāre : Latin ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + Latin corrigia, thong (probably of Celtic origin).]
scourg'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
scourge (n.)

c.1225, from Anglo-Fr. escorge, back-formation from O.Fr. escorgier "to whip," from V.L. *excorrigiare, from L. ex- "out, off" + corrigia "thong, shoelace," in this case "whip," probably from a Gaulish word related to O.Ir. cuimrech "fetter." The verb is attested from c.1225. Scourge of God, title given by later generations to Attila the Hun, is attested from 1387, from L. flagellum Dei.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

scourge
noun
1.	a whip used to inflict punishment (often used for pedantic humor)
2.	something causing misery or death; "the bane of my life" [syn: bane]
3.	a person who inspires fear or dread; "he was the terror of the neighborhood" [syn: terror]
verb
1.	punish severely; excoriate
2.	whip; "The religious fanatics flagellated themselves" [syn: flagellate]
3.	cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion" [syn: lay waste to]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Scourge

Scourge\, n. [F. escourg['e]e, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriare to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]

1. A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip.

Up to coach then goes The observed maid, takes both the scourge and reins. --Chapman.

2. Hence, a means of inflicting punishment, vengeance, or suffering; an infliction of affliction; a punishment.

Sharp scourges of adversity. --Chaucer.

What scourge for perjury Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence? --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Scourge

Scourge\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scourged; p. pr. & vb. n. Scourging.] [From Scourge, n.: cf. OF. escorgier.]

1. To whip severely; to lash.

Is it lawful for you to scourge a . . . Roman? --Acts xxii. 25.

2. To punish with severity; to chastise; to afflict, as for sins or faults, and with the purpose of correction.

Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. --Heb. xii. 6.

3. To harass or afflict severely.

To scourge and impoverish the people. --Brougham.

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