Scoff

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /skɒf/

Definitions

1. To express contempt through dismissive remarks or laughter while treating someone or something with derision or scorn, often conveying disbelief
2. To make fun of or show disrespect toward someone or something ; to consume food or drink hastily and greedily
3. To ridicule or scorn in a mocking manner ; to gulp down nourishment in a hurried way

Etymology: The verb "scoff" in the sense of mocking with scorn appears in Middle English as "scof" or "skof", and its ancestry is probably North Germanic. Related words turn up across the Scandinavian and German-speaking world: Old Norse "skaup" meant insult or derision, Old Danish and Old Frisian "skof" carried the sense of insult or shame, and Old High German had "scoph". The family points to a shared idea of taunting someone to their face. Scoff also has a separate, less familiar relative. Since the mid 19th century, "scaff" has been recorded as a variant of it, with the sense of eating quickly, and the two are linked to "scarf" in the same meaning. The origin of "scaff" itself is uncertain, so the connection is one of form and sense rather than proven descent.

Synonyms: mock, ridicule, jeer

Antonyms: praise, compliment