scathe

English

Alternative forms

• scath (dialectal or obsolete)
• skaith, scaith (Scotland)

Etymology 1

From Middle English scathe, from Old English sceaþa (also sceaþu) ("scathe, harm, injury"), from Proto-Germanic *skaþô (“damage, scathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kēt- (“damage, harm”).

Noun

scathe (plural scathes)

1. Harm; damage; injury; hurt; misfortune.

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

Translations

harm; damage; injury; hurt; misfortune

• Russian: вред (ru) (vred) m, ущерб (ru) (uščérb) m

• Spanish: daño (es) m, herida (es) f, infortunio (es) m

Etymology 2

From Middle English scathen, skathen, from Old English sceaþan, scaþan (“to scathe, hurt, harm, injure”) and Old Norse skaða (“to hurt”); both from Proto-Germanic *skaþōną (“to injure”). Cognate with Danish skade, German schaden, Swedish skada; compare Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (skaþjan), Old Norse skeðja (“to hurt”). Compare Ancient Greek ἀσκηθής (askēthēs, “unhurt”), Albanian shkathët (“skillful, adept, clever”), Polish skaleczyć (“to hurt, scathe”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /skeɪð/
• Rhymes: -eɪð

Verb

scathe (third-person singular simple present scathes, present participle scathing, simple past and past participle scathed)

1. (archaic) To injure.
   • Milton

     As when heaven's fire / Hath scathed the forest oaks or mountain pines.

   • Washington Irving

     Strokes of calamity that scathe and scorch the soul.

Translations

injure

• Dutch: schaden (nl)
• Finnish: vahingoittaa (fi)

• Russian: причинять вред
• Spanish: herir (es)

References

• scath in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

• chaste, cheats, sachet, stache, taches