scarp
pronunciation
How to pronounce scarp in British English:
UK [skɑ:p]
How to pronounce scarp in American English:
US [skɑrp]
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- Noun:
- a long steep slope or cliff at the edge of a plateau or ridge; usually formed by erosion
- a steep artificial slope in front of a fortification
Word Origin
- scarp (n.)
- "steep slope," 1580s, from Italian scarpa "slope," probably from a Germanic source, perhaps Gothic skarpo "pointed object," from Proto-Germanic *skarpa- "cutting, sharp" (cognates: Middle High German schroffe "sharp rock, crag," Old English scræf "cave, grave"), from PIE *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear (v.)).