scutch

[ skuhch ]

verb (used with object)

1. to dress (flax) by beating.
2. Also . to dress (brick or stone).

noun

1. Also called scutcher. a device for scutching flax fiber.
2. Also . a small picklike tool with two cutting edges for trimming brick.

scutch

¹

/ skʌtʃ /

verb

1. dialect.
   to strike with an open hand

scutch

²

/ skʌtʃ /

verb

1. tr to separate the fibres from the woody part of (flax) by pounding

noun

1. Also calledscutcher the tool used for this

Word History and Origins

Origin of scutch¹

1680–90; < Middle French *escoucher ( French écoucher ) to beat flax < Vulgar Latin *excuticāre, for Latin excutere ( ex- ex- ¹ + -cutere, combining form of quatere to shatter; quash )

Word History and Origins

Origin of scutch¹

C18: from obsolete French escoucher, from Vulgar Latin excuticāre (unattested) to beat out, from Latin ex- ¹+ quatere to shake

Example Sentences

To scutch 100 pounds of broken flax clean, 130 hours of labour are required by the German swinging method.

From Project Gutenberg

Scutch′er, one who dresses hedges: an implement used in scutching, esp.

From Project Gutenberg

Scutch is the name given to a manure made from the waste products incidental to the manufacture of glue and the dressing of skins.

From Project Gutenberg

The affray at Ferrara put the scutch upon the mighty railway scheme.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a moor at the time of the battle in 1485, overgrown with thistles and scutch-grass.

From Project Gutenberg