Scour

Scour, skowr, v.t. to clean by rubbing with something rough: to cleanse from grease or dirt: to remove by rubbing: to cleanse by a current: to search thoroughly by scrubbing: to cleanse by brushing: to purge drastically.—n. the action of a strong current in a narrow channel: violent purging.—ns. Scour′age, refuse water after scouring; Scour′er, drastic cathartic; Scour′ing, in angling, the freshening of angle-worms for bait by putting them in clean sand; Scour′ing-ball, a ball composed of soap, &c., for removing stains of grease.—n.pl. Scour′ing-drops, a mixture of oil of turpentine and oil of lemon used for removing stains.—ns. Scour′ing-rush, one of the horse-tails; Scour′ing-stock, in woollen manufacture, an apparatus in which cloths are treated to remove the oil and to cleanse them in the process of manufacture. [O. Fr. escurer—L. excurāre, to take great care of.]