I. ˈskȯld verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English scalden to burn with hot liquid, from Old North French escalder, from Late Latin excaldare to wash in warm water, from Latin ex- + calida, calda warm water, from feminine of calidus, caldus warm — more at caldron
transitive verb
1. : to burn with hot liquid or steam : pain or injure by contact with any hot fluid or irritating chemicals
2.
a. : to subject to the action of boiling water or steam (as for loosening hair or feathers on a slaughtered animal, for loosening skin of fruits or vegetables, or for stopping enzyme action or bacterial growth)
scald a tomato before peeling it
scald dishes
— compare blanch , parboil
b. : to immerse in a boiling liquid or chemical
c. : to bring (a liquid) to a temperature just below the boiling point
scald milk
d. : to cook (a slurry of grain meal and water) as the first step in the mashing process by pouring boiling water over the meal or by using live steam to heat the mixture usually in a pressure cooker
3. : to affect as painfully as by the application of boiling water
tears that scald the cheek
4. : scorch
sun- scalded ground — Myrtle R. White
5. chiefly Irish : worry , torment
it scalds my heart
intransitive verb
1. : to produce the effects of boiling water or scorching heat : inflict agonizing pain
a desert of dry scalding sand — Daniel Defoe
2.
a. : to suffer the effects of boiling water or scorching heat
b. : to be affected by scald
the apples scalded severely in storage
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an injury to the skin or flesh caused by some hot liquid, by steam, or by irritating chemicals
dressed the scald with carron oil — A.J.Cronin
2.
a. : a process of subjection (as of food or dishes) to scalding
b. : the act of scalding
shorter scalds apparently did not completely inactivate the enzymes — Biological Abstracts
3. dialect chiefly England : the hot bath or solution in which something is or may be scalded
4. dialect chiefly England : a piece of land (as part of a larger field) that is prone to scorching and too rapid drying
5. : any of several plant diseases marked especially by discoloration suggesting injury by heat: as
a. : cranberry scald
b. : a burning and browning of plant tissues resulting from high temperatures or from the combined actions of high temperature and intense light
c. : a browning of bean plants caused by excess of manganese uptake
d. : a storage discoloration of apples or pears due to the volatile products given off by the ripening tissues that is now almost wholly controlled by the use of oiled wrappings which absorb these substances
6. : a nonspecific inflammation of the feet of sheep often the forerunner of foot rot
•
- get a good scald on
III. adjective
Etymology: scall + -ed
1. archaic : scabby , scurfy
powder or meal was first used … to conceal their scald heads — Tobias Smollett
2. archaic : scurvy , shabby , contemptible
scald rogues
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by scald ) (III) of scall
: scurf on the head : a scabby spot or condition caused by disease
V. ˈskȧd
chiefly Scotland
variant of scold
VI.
variant of skald
VII. ˈskȯld adjective
Etymology: by shortening
: scalded
like coffee covered with scald cream — Charles Kingsley