Scarifies

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make shallow cuts in soil for aeration or to promote growth of plants
2. To perform incisions or markings on the surface of something, often for agricultural purposes
3. To render a surface more conducive to growth by breaking it up through shallow cuts

Etymology: "Scarifies" is the third-person singular present of "scarify," so this is simply the verb's form for "he," "she," or "it." The verb itself comes from the Late Latin "scarificare," meaning to make a superficial incision, which was formed from Latin "scarifare," a borrowing of Greek "skariphasthai," to scratch or scarify. English took the verb in the late 1500s, and its earliest senses were medical, referring to lightly cutting the skin, often to draw blood or let out a little of it. The gardening sense, scraping or raking the surface of lawns and soil to remove thatch and loosen the ground, is a later specialization that developed from that surgical meaning. The same basic idea of making shallow surface cuts carried over from the body to the earth, which is why a rake-like tool used on turf is called a scarifier.

Synonyms: aerates, pricks, punctures, perforates, incises

Antonyms: closes, seals, fills, covers, shuts