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Origin and history of scorch

scorch(v.)

"to burn superficially or slightly, but so as to change the color or injure the texture," early 14c., scorchen, perhaps an alteration of scorcnen "make dry, parch; become singed" (late 12c.), itself a word of obscure origin, perhaps from Old Norse skorpna "to be shriveled," which is cognate with Old English scrimman "to shrink, dry up."

The old derivation is from Old French escorchier "to strip off the skin," from Vulgar Latin *excorticare "to flay," from ex- (see ex-) + Latin cortex (genitive corticis) "cork;" but OED and Century Dictionary find this not likely based on the sense difference. That word came into English separately as scorchen "strip the skin from" (mid-15c.).

Scorched earth military strategy is by 1937, said to be a translation of Chinese jiaotu, in reference to tactics to stem the Japanese advance into China. The tactics themselves are much older.

also from early 14c.

scorch(n.)

"mark made by scorching," 1610s, from scorch (n.).

also from 1610s

Entries linking to scorch

scorcher(n.)

"very hot day," 1874, agent noun from scorch (v.). It also means or has meant "stinging rebuke or attack in words" (1842), "pretty girl" (1881), "line drive in baseball" (1900).

scotch(v.)

early 15c., scocchen "to cut, score, gash, make an incision," a word of obscure origin. Century Dictionary considers that it might be a deformation of scratch. Chronology rules out connection with scorch. Perhaps [Barnhart] from Anglo-French escocher, Old French cocher "to notch, nick," from coche "a notch, groove," perhaps from Latin coccum "berry of the scarlet oak," which appears notched, from Greek kokkos.

The meaning "stamp out, crush" (often figurative, of abstract things) is by 1825, earlier "make harmless for a time, wound slightly" (1798), a sense that derives from an uncertain reading of "Macbeth" III.ii.13). Related: Scotched; scotching.

ex-

word-forming element, in English meaning usually "out of, from," but also "upwards, completely, deprive of, without," and "former;" from Latin ex "out of, out from the interior of a thing" (in opposition to in), "from within; from which time, since; according to; in regard to." This is reconstructed to be from PIE *eghs "out" (source also of Gaulish ex-, Old Irish ess-, Old Church Slavonic izu, Russian iz). In some cases also from Greek cognate ex, ek.

Often reduced to e- before -b-, -d-, -g-, consonantal -i-, -l-, -m-, -n-, -v- (as in elude, emerge, evaporate, etc.).

The sense in Latin naturally tended toward "thoroughly, utterly," and in some English ex- words with no clear connection to the idea of "out of," the element might be purely intensive. Among them are exhort, exhilarate, evident, excruciate, exclaim, exuberant, exaggerate, expiate, expect.

For use of Latin ex- as "(rise) up out of," as preserved in English emerge, emend, the notion is "out from the interior of a thing," in opposition to in-. Hence also in Latin, "in an upward direction," as in effervesce, exult, extol.

PIE *eghs had comparative form *eks-tero and superlative *eks-t(e)r-emo-.

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