/ skɜːdʒ; NAmE skɜːrdʒ/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ usually sing. ] scourge (of sb/sth) ( formal ) a person or thing that causes trouble or suffering :
the scourge of war / disease / poverty
Inflation was the scourge of the 1970s.
2.
a whip used to punish people in the past
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
[ usually passive ] ( literary ) to cause trouble or suffering to sb :
He lay awake, scourged by his conscience.
2.
( old use ) to hit sb with a scourge
SYN whip
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : shortening of Old French escorge (noun), escorgier (verb), from Latin ex- thoroughly + corrigia thong, whip.