Sceorfan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Old English verb meaning to scrape, scratch or gnaw at a surface, wearing or tearing it with repeated rubbing or biting
2. An archaic verb for scraping or gnawing at something, often leaving it roughened, torn or worn away
3. Used in Old English to describe scratching, scraping or chewing at a surface until it is marked or damaged

Etymology: Old English "sceorfan" meant "to scrape, gnaw, or nibble," and it is the ancestor of modern "scarf" in the sense of a band of cloth worn around the neck. Its basic sense was physical: to cut or wear away a surface by rubbing or biting. Many Old English verbs of this kind were built on a root that survives in German "schrapen" ("to scrape") and in the related English "scrape" and "scrap," which share the idea of abrading something. The verb's meaning drifted through the centuries. In Middle English, "scarf" could mean to join two pieces of wood or timber by cutting away matching parts so they fit flush, a technique still used in carpentry. The noun "scarf" for a joint of this kind came from that sense. The neck garment is a separate borrowing: it comes from Old Norse or Old French sources of similar form, not directly from the verb, so the two senses are related only through the shared history of the word-family.