scratch
pronunciation
How to pronounce scratch in British English:
UK [skrætʃ]
How to pronounce scratch in American English:
US [skrætʃ]
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- Noun:
- an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off
- a depression scratched or carved into a surface
- informal terms for money
- dry mash for poultry
- a harsh noise made by scraping
- poor handwriting
- an indication of damage
-
- Verb:
- cause friction
- cut the surface of; wear away the surface of
- scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
Word Origin
- scratch
- scratch: [15] Early Middle English had two words for ‘scratch’ – scrat and cratch; and it seems likely that scratch represents a blend of them. Where exactly they came from is not clear, although cratch is no doubt related to German kratzen ‘scratch’, and both probably had their origins in imitation of the sound of scratching.
- scratch (v.)
- c. 1400, probably a fusion of Middle English scratten and crachen, both meaning "to scratch," both of uncertain origin. Related: Scratched; scratching. Billiards sense of "to hit the cue ball into a pocket" is first recorded 1909 (also, originally, itch), though earlier it meant "a lucky shot" (1850). Meaning "to withdraw (a horse) from a race" is 1865, from notion of scratching name off list of competitors; used in a non-sporting sense of "cancel a plan, etc." from 1680s. To scratch the surface "make only slight progress in penetrating or understanding" is from 1882. To scratch (one's) head as a gesture of perplexity is recorded from 1712.
- scratch (n.)
- 1580s, "slight skin tear produced by a sharp thing," from scratch (v.). Meaning "mark or slight furrow in metal, etc." is from 1660s. American English slang sense of "money" is from 1914, of uncertain signification. Many figurative senses (such as up to scratch, originally "ready to meet one's opponent") are from sporting use for "line or mark drawn as a starting place," attested from 1778 (but the earliest use is figurative); meaning "nothing" (as in from scratch) is 1918, generalized from specific 19c. sporting sense of "starting point of a competitor who receives no odds in a handicap match." Sense in billiards is from 1850. Scratch-pad is attested from 1883.
- Scratch (n.2)
- in Old Scratch "the Devil," 1740, from earlier Scrat, from Old Norse skratte "goblin, wizard," a word which was used in late Old English to gloss "hermaphrodite;" probably originally "monster" (compare Old High German scraz, scrato "satyr, wood demon," German Schratt, Old High German screz "a goblin, imp, dwarf;" borrowed from Germanic into Slavic, as in Polish skrzat "a goblin").
Example
- 1. Srivastava meanwhile was becoming even more interested in scratch tickets .
- 2. I felt an itch on my face and wanted to scratch it .
- 3. The state of being annoyed is like being itchy you have to scratch .
- 4. We have the capacity to repair relationships -- it 's like having a scratch that heals .
- 5. When a man faces landscapes whose grandeur clutches him by the throat , each move ment of his mind is a scratch on his perfection .