ˈskau̇riŋ, -rēŋ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from scouren to scour + -ing
1. : the act or action of one that scours
2. : the process of cleaning raw stock, yarns, or cloth ; specifically : the removal of impurities (as natural grease and foreign substances) from raw wool usually by a series of washings in soap, alkalies, or chemical solvents
3.
a. : material removed by scouring or cleaning : refuse
the patients in the pump room don't swallow the scourings of the bathers — Tobias Smollett
b. : the lowest rank of society : scum — usually used in plural
the associate of the scourings of the jail and hulks — Charles Dickens
4. : the erosion of earth or rock by the action of flowing water or of a glacier