scar English · revision 39698

+ English has two main nouns spelled ''scar'': a steep rock or cliff, from Old Norse, and the mark left by a wound, from French.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /skɑː/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /skɑɹ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|cliff, rock}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a1387, J. Trevisa, translation of Higden's Polychronicon|origins=ine-pro *sker-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The rock is [[bor|non|sker|t=low reef, rock in the sea]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) in Middle English [[m|enm|skerre]], also spelled with ''-a-''.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) The Norse word comes from the Germanic root ''*sker-'', to cut, seen in [[m|non|skera|t=to cut]] and English [[shear]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*sker-|t=to cut]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) perhaps from the notion of something cut off.^(Etymonline) The same Norse word gave [[skerry]]^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) and, in Scottish Gaelic, [[m|gd|sgeir|t=rock in the sea]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A rock or crag: a1387, in John Trevisa's translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon''; this sense died out about 1600.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline finds the word in place-names from the 12th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern sense, a high, steep face of rock on a hillside, a precipice, is recorded from 1673,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and the Shorter Oxford notes it especially of the limestone cliffs of the Yorkshire Dales.^(SOED 2002) The English Dialect Dictionary records it, often as ''scaur'', from Scotland and Ireland through the northern counties to Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire, for a bare place on a hillside, a cliff or a steep bank.^(Wright 1898) Following the Norse sense, a low or sunken rock in the sea is recorded from about 1712.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) In 19th-century industry the word was also used for a hard cinder or lump of slag left in a furnace.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1387 – a rock or crag (obsolete by about 1600).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1673 – a steep rock face on a hillside; a cliff.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * a1712 – a low or sunken rock in the sea.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1852 – a furnace cinder; clinker.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A steep, bare face of rock on a hillside or mountain; a [[cliff]] or [[precipice]].^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An isolated or projecting [[rock]], especially a low rock in the sea.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A hard [[cinder]] or lump of slag from a furnace; [[clinker]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ {{homograph|2|mark of a healed wound}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a1425 (c1395), Wycliffite Bible|origins=grc ἐσχάρα}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The mark of a wound is probably [[bor|fro|escare|t=scab]], with loss of the first syllable,^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-lat|eschara|t=scab]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|ἐσχάρα|tr=eskhárā|t=hearth, brazier; scab formed after a burn]],^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) which is of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart also names [[m|la-med|escara]] as a source.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED and Etymonline think the English sense was influenced by [[m|enm|scarre|t=crack, cut, incision]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) which the OED derives, perhaps, from [[m|non|skarð|t=notch, gap]].^(OED 2026) The same Late Latin word gave [[eschar]].^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The trace left on the skin by a healed wound, sore or burn: a1425, in the later version of the Wycliffite Bible (about 1395).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, a lasting fault or blemish left by some earlier event, is recorded from 1583,^(OED 2026) and Johnson (1755) defined the word as "A mark made by a hurt or fire; a cicatrix", quoting Shakespeare and Milton.^(Johnson 1755) The verb, "to mark with a scar", followed in 1555, in Richard Eden's translation of Peter Martyr,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) and was used figuratively from 1593, in Thomas Nashe,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and of damage to land or objects from 1697.^(OED 2026) The sense "to heal over, to form a scar" is recorded from 1888.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Botanists and naturalists have used the noun since 1793 for the mark left where a leaf, shell muscle or other part was attached.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Collins records the sense of a lasting emotional injury.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1425 – the mark of a healed wound.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1532 – ''bring to a scar'', to heal a wound (obsolete by 1629).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1555 – verb, to mark with a scar.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1583 – a lasting blemish (figurative).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1593 – verb, figurative.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1793 – a mark where a part was once attached (natural history).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1888 – verb, to heal over.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A mark left on the skin or other tissue after a [[wound]], burn or sore has healed.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A lasting mental or emotional effect of a painful experience: ''The divorce left deep scars on both children.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (botany) A mark on a stem where a leaf or other part was once attached.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A mark of damage or wear on a surface; a [[blemish]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To mark with a scar or scars; to [[disfigure]] or damage: ''Quarries had scarred the hillside.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To leave a lasting harmful effect on someone.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To form a scar; to heal leaving a scar.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[scarless]]

+ * [[scarred]]

+ * [[unscarred]]

+ * [[scar tissue]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[eschar]]

+ * [[skerry]]

+ * [[shear]]

+ * [[share]]

+ * [[score]]

+ * [[shard]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A third word ''scar'', an adjective meaning "shy, easily frightened", especially of a horse, is Scots and northern English and comes from [[m|non|skjarr]], the source also of [[scare]].^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) In Scots and several English dialects ''scar'' is also simply a form of the verb ''scare''.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}