scutch

American  

[skuhch] / skʌtʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to dress (flax) by beating.

2. Also to dress (brick or stone).

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noun

1. Also called scutcher.  a device for scutching flax fiber.

2. Also a small picklike tool with two cutting edges for trimming brick.

scutch ¹ British  

/ skʌtʃ /

verb

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

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noun

1. Also called: scutcher.  the tool used for this

scutch ² British  

/ skʌtʃ /

verb

1. dialect to strike with an open hand

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Etymology

Origin of scutch

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; cf. quash)

Example Sentences

It is a native of Southern Europe, but is now wideÏspread in warm countries; Ð called also scutch grass, and in Bermuda, devil grass.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah

They have, Mister Churchouse, and they scutch well and can be wrought into textiles.

From The Spinners by Phillpotts, Eden

These substances are as follows: fish-guano, meat-meal guano, dried blood, shoddy, scutch, horns and hoofs, hair, bristles, feathers, leather-scrap, &c.

From Manures and the principles of manuring by Aikman, Charles Morton

On Wednesday evening a fire broke out in Mr. J. Elkin's scutch mill at Kilmore, near Omagh, which resulted in the complete destruction of the premises.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, May 30, 1917 by Seaman, Owen, Sir

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

From Pilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber Or The Influence of Romanism on Trade, Justice, and Knowledge by Wylie, James Aitken