Etymology Map
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Scour

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means to clean by hard rubbing; to search thoroughly

Where does the word "scour" come from? It comes from Latin excurare, passing through Middle Dutch before entering English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
excurare
Latin · ancient
"to clean off"
'ex-' plus 'curare', to take care of, clean
2
Stage 2 of 3
schuren
Middle Dutch · medieval
"to scrub"
Flemish cloth-makers and housekeepers used it for scrubbing surfaces
3
Stage 3 of 3
scour
English · 1300s
"to scrub; to search thoroughly"
the sense of searching an area thoroughly came in the 1500s
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Read the full story

Scour’s story begins in Latin: excurare meant “to clean off.” 'ex-' plus 'curare', to take care of, clean. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Middle Dutch as schuren. Flemish cloth-makers and housekeepers used it for scrubbing surfaces. It reached English by 1300s as scour. The sense of searching an area thoroughly came in the 1500s. Today, scour means to clean by hard rubbing; to search thoroughly.