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, ., 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 proce of manufacture. [O. Fr. escurer —L. excurāre , to take great care of.]