scourge
2
9.6
- noun
- /ˈskɜrdʒ/
- Archaic
:
látigo
Examples
-
In the hands of St. Gregory VII, it was a scourge to chasten them.
Blog text (30) -
You've been a scourge to her enemies, you've been a rod to her friends.
-
To avert this scourge, the Senate vowed to erect a splendid temple to the Redeemer of mankind and to offer therein each year on the third Sunday of July public and solemn services of thanksgiving.
Blog text (1) -
God's deliverance of the sacred Russian land from the scourge of Napoleon in 1812 is recalled in St. Petersburg by the Kazan Cathedral and in Moscow by the rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Academic text (1997) -
The prison warden used a scourge to enforce discipline among the inmates.
-
In ancient times, a scourge was often used as a method of punishment during trials.
-
The rebellious soldier felt the sting of the scourge as a reminder of his disobedience.
Synonyms
13
7.2
A strip of leather for beating someone as punishment
A long whip used to punish people
A heavy whip used in Russia long ago to punish prisoners
Compounds
- Literature
A name for Attila the Hun, the king who attacked the Roman Empire in the 400s
How Severe
- Archaic
2
9.6
41
3.5
Surface Forms
Etymology
Scourge originally meant a whip used for punishment. It comes from the Latin word excoriare meaning 'to strip the skin', so a scourge was a tool that caused painful punishment.