Scour1, v. t.
[imp. & p. p. SCOURED; p. pr. & vb. n. SCOURING.] [A-S. scūr, a scouring, L. Ger. schüren, schüren, scheuern, to scour, D. scheuren, scheueren, M. H. Ger. schiuren, N. H. Ger. scheuern, Dan. skure, Sw. skura, L. Lat. escurare, O. Fr. escurer, N. Fr. écurer, Sp. escurar, It. sgurare, from Lat. ex and curare, to take care of, to look or attend to; L. Ger. schiren, scheren, to flee away, or go away quickly.]
Sense 1. To rub hard with something rough, for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, &c., as articles of dress; to restore.
Sense 2. To purge violently.
Sense 3. To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep off; to carry away; to remove.
Never came reformation in a flood With such a heady current, scouring faults. Shak.
Sense 4. To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to range; to traverse thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. Pope.
Scouring-barrel, a machine in which scrap-iron, or small manufactured articles of metal, are freed from dirt and rust by friction. — Scouring-power, the power of a stream of water to clear away rubbish, as from the mouth of a river, &c. — Scouring-rush (Bot.), a plant of the genus Equisetum (E. hyemale). See EQUISETUM.