scouring : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: scouring	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for scouring
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
scouring n moving over territory to search for something; "scouring the entire area revealed nothing" the act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush and soap and water Synonym(s): scrub, scrubbing, scouring
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Scour \Scour\ (skour), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Scoured}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Scouring}.] [Akin to LG. sch[81]ren, D. schuren, schueren, G. scheuern, Dan. skure; Sw. skura; all possibly fr. LL. escurare, fr. L. ex + curare to take care. Cf. {Cure}.] 1. To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, etc., as articles of dress. 2. To purge; as, to scour a horse. 3. To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off; to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; -- often with off or away. [I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask, Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it. --Shak. 4. [Perhaps a different word; cf. OF. escorre, escourre, It. scorrere, both fr. L. excurrere to run forth. Cf. {Excursion}.] To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast. Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. --Pope. {Scouring barrel}, a tumbling barrel. See under {Tumbling}. {Scouring cinder} (Metal.), a basic slag, which attacks the lining of a shaft furnace. --Raymond. {Scouring rush}. (Bot.) See {Dutch rush}, under {Dutch}. {Scouring stock} (Woolen Manuf.), a kind of fulling mill.