scorn

English

Etymology

Verb from Middle English scornen, schornen, alteration of Old French escharnir, from Vulgar Latin *escarnire, from Proto-Germanic *skarnjan, which could be from *skeraną (“to shear”), or possibly related to *skarną (“dung, filth”). Noun from Old French escarn (cognate with Portuguese escárnio, Spanish escarnio and Italian scherno).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skɔːn/
• IPA^(key): /skɔɹn/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)n

Verb

scorn (third-person singular simple present scorns, present participle scorning, simple past and past participle scorned)

1. (transitive) To feel or display contempt or disdain for something or somebody; to despise.
   • (Can we date this quote by C. J. Smith and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     We scorn what is in itself contemptible or disgraceful.

2. (transitive) To reject, turn down.

   He scorned her romantic advances.

3. (transitive) To refuse to do something, as beneath oneself.

   She scorned to show weakness.

4. (intransitive) To scoff, to express contempt.
   • 1578–1579, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention‎^[1], London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, published 1591, →OCLC:

     For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb which takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (to feel contempt): see also Thesaurus:despise
• (to scoff): deride, mock, ridicule, scoff, sneer

Translations

to feel contempt or disdain for something or somebody

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鄙薄 (zh) (bǐbó)

• Czech: opovrhovat (cs), pohrdat (cs)
• Dutch: minachten (nl), verachten (nl)
• Finnish: halveksia (fi), halveksua (fi)
• French: mépriser (fr), dédaigner (fr)
• German: verachten (de)
• Greek: περιφρονώ (el) (perifronó)
• Hebrew: לבוז
• Hungarian: megvet (hu)
• Italian: disprezzare (it), disdegnare (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 蔑む (ja) (sagesumu), 見下す (mikudasu)
• Kazakh: елемеу (elemeu), елемеу, елең қылмау (elemeu, eleñ qylmau)
• Maori: whakareko, tokoreko
• Polish: gardzić (pl), lekceważyć (pl)
• Portuguese: desprezar (pt), desdenhar (pt), menosprezar (pt)
• Quechua: alqochay
• Romanian: disprețui (ro)
• Russian: презира́ть (ru) (prezirátʹ), относи́ться с пренебрежением (otnosítʹsja s prenebreženijem)
• Slovak: opovrhovať
• Spanish: despreciar (es) m, desdeñar (es), menospreciar (es), escarnir
• Vietnamese: khinh bỉ (vi), khinh miệt (vi)

to scoff or express contempt

• Czech: opovrhovat (cs) impf, pohrdat (cs) impf
• French: mépriser (fr)
• German: verspotten (de)
• Japanese: 嘲る (あざける, azakeru), 嘲う (あざわらう, azawarau)
• Polish: szydzić (pl), drwić (pl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: disprețui (ro), urî (ro)
• Russian: насмехаться (ru) (nasmexatʹsja), глумиться (ru) (glumitʹsja)
• Spanish: escarnir
• Swedish: förakta (sv)

to reject

• Czech: odmítat (cs) impf
• Finnish: torjua (fi)
• German: verschmähen (de)
• Greek: περιφρονώ (el) (perifronó)
• Italian: disprezzare (it)
• Japanese: 撥ね付ける (hanetsukeru)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: spernō
• Polish: wzgardzić, odrzucić (pl)
• Romanian: respinge (ro), refuza (ro)
• Russian: отвергать (ru) impf (otvergatʹ)
• Slovak: ohrdnúť, odmietnuť
• Spanish: rechazar (es), escarnir

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 蔑視／蔑视 (zh) (mièshì), ^{(please verify)} 蔑视 (zh) (mièshì)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Noun

scorn (countable and uncountable, plural scorns)

1. (uncountable) Contempt or disdain.
2. (countable) A display of disdain; a slight.
   • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Every sullen frown and bitter scorn / But fanned the fuel that too fast did burn.

3. (countable) An object of disdain, contempt, or derision.
   • Bible, Psalms xliv. 13

     Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

Usage notes

• Scorn is often used in the phrases pour scorn on and heap scorn on.

Quotations

• circa 1605: The cry is still 'They come': our castle's strength / Will laugh a siege to scorn — William Shakespeare, Macbeth
• 1967, Rain of tears, real, mist of imagined scorn — John Berryman, Berryman's Sonnets. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:contempt

Derived terms

• scornful

Translations

contempt, disdain

• Catalan: menyspreu m, desdeny m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 輕蔑／轻蔑 (zh) (qīngmiè), 轻蔑 (zh) (qīngmiè)

• Czech: opovržení (cs) n
• Dutch: minachting (nl) f, verachting (nl) f
• French: mépris (fr) m, dédain (fr) m
• German: Verachtung (de) f
• Greek: περιφρόνηση (el) f (perifrónisi)
• Hebrew: שאט-נפש (sh'át-néfesh)
• Hungarian: megvetés (hu)
• Italian: disprezzo (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 軽蔑 (ja) (keibetsu), 鄙薄 (hihaku)
• Korean: 경멸 (ko) (gyeongmyeol)
• Latin: contemptus m
• Persian: حقارت (fa) (heqârat)
• Polish: pogarda (pl) f, lekceważenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: desprezo (pt) m, escárnio (pt) m, desdém (pt) m
• Romanian: dispreț (ro) n
• Russian: презре́ние (ru) (prezrénije)
• Spanish: desprecio (es) m, desdén (es) m, escarnio (es), ludibrio (es) (formal)
• Swedish: förakt (sv), hån (sv)

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN

Anagrams

• Crons, corns