SCOURING


Meaning of SCOURING in English

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

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.