Word.ws English Dictionary

scathe

/skeɪð//skeɪð/

scathe noun: damage, harm, hurt, injury.

Noun

scathe (countable and uncountable, plural scathes)

  1. (UK, archaic, dialectal) Damage, harm, hurt, injury.
    • Therefore great Lords bee as your titles vvitnes,
      Imperious, and impatient of your vvrongs,
      And vvherein Rome hath done you any ſkath,
      Let him make treable ſatisfaction.c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas...
    • [S]trong ale and noble cheere
      t'aſſwage breeme winters ſcathes.1606?, Michaell Drayton [i.e., Michael Drayton], “Ode 7”, in Poemes Lyrick and Pastorall. […], London: […] R. B[radock] for N[icholas] L[ing] and I[ohn] Flasket, →OCLC; republished in Poemes Lyrick...
  2. (UK, archaic, countable, dialectal) Someone who, or something which, causes harm; an injurer.
    • The pride I trampled is now my scathe,
      For it tramples me again.1888, William Ernest Henley, “Life and Death (Echoes)”, in A Book of Verses, London: David Nutt […], →OCLC, canto XXXV, page 102
    Synonyms:
    harmer
  3. (UK, archaic, countable, dialectal, obsolete, Scots law) An injury or loss for which compensation is sought in a lawsuit; damage; also, expenses incurred by a claimant; costs.
  4. (UK, archaic, dialectal, uncountable) Something to be mourned or regretted.
    • They deemed it little scathe indeed
      That her coarse homespun ragged weed
      Fell off from her round arms and lithe
      Laid on the door-post, that a withe
      Of willows was her only belt;
      And each as he gazed at her felt
      As some gift had been given him.1870, William Morris, “December: The Fostering of Aslaug”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, part IV, London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], →OCLC, page 57

Verb

scathe (third-person singular simple present scathes, present participle scathing, simple past and past participle scathed)

  1. (Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive) To harm or injure (someone or something) physically.
    • This trick may chance to ſcath you I knovv vvhat,
      You muſt contrarie me, […]c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Iuliet. […] (Second Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, […], published 1599, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]
    • Thir Glory witherd. As when Heavens Fire
      Hath ſcath'd the Forreſt Oaks, or Mountain Pines,
      With ſinged top their ſtately growth though bare
      Stands on the blaſted Heath.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
    Synonyms:
    damage, wound, abuse, annoy, bewound, damnify, dere, do damage to, do for, do ill
    1. (Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, obsolete, specifically) To cause monetary loss to (someone).
      • VVell goe too vvild oates, ſpend thrift, prodigall,
        Ile croſſe thy name quite from my reckoning booke:
        For theſe accounts, faith it ſhall skathe thee ſomevvhat,
        I vvill not ſay vvhat ſomevvhat it ſhall be.1602, [Thomas Heywood], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie, wherein is Shewed How a Man may Chuse a Good Wife from a Bad. […], London: […] [Thomas Creede] for Mathew Lawe, […], →OCLC; reprinted as How a...
  2. (UK, archaic, broadly, dialectal, literary, poetic) To harm, injure, or destroy (someone or something) by fire, lightning, or some other heat source; to blast; to scorch; to wither.
    • The shout was hushed on lake and fell,
      The Monk resumed his muttered spell.
      Dismal and low its accents came,
      The while he scathed the Cross with flame; […]1810, Walter Scott, “Canto III. The Gathering.”, in The Lady of the Lake; […], Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for John Ballantyne and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and...
    • Hoary, yet haughty, frowns the oak,
      Its boughs by weight of ages broke;
      And towers erect, in sable spire,
      The pine-tree scathed by lightning fire; […]1813, Walter Scott, “Canto Fourth”, in Rokeby; a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [F]or John Ballantyne and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; by James Ballantyne and Co., […], →OCLC, stanza...
  3. (UK, archaic, dialectal, figuratively, transitive) To severely hurt (someone's feelings, soul, etc., or something intangible) through acts, words spoken, etc.
    • There are some strokes of calamity that scathe and scorch the soul—that penetrate to the vital seat of happiness—and blast it, never again to put forth bud or blossom.1819 July 31, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Broken Heart”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number II, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC...
    • For the fire-baptised soul, long so scathed and thunder-riven, here feels its own Freedom, which feeling is its Baphometic Baptism: […]1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Centre of Indifference”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, page 117

scathe meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam

scathe in Tamil

தீங்கு, துன்பம், காயம், தீங்கு அல்லது துன்பம் விளைவித்தல்

scathe in Urdu

چوٹ, نقصان, زخم

scathe in Bengali

ক্ষতি করা, আঘাত করা

scathe in Malayalam

damage; harm; hurt; injury
ക്ഷതം kṣataṁ
to harm or injure (someone or something) physically
ക്ഷതപ്പെടുത്തുക kṣatappeṭuttuka
More languagesFewer languages
scathe in Kannada
ಸೀದು ಹಾಕು, ಹಾನಿಮಾಡು, ಹಾನಿಗೊಳಿಸು, ಗಾಸಿಗೊಳಿಸು
scathe in Persian
شخودن šexudan

Examples of scathe in a sentence

  • Let us take the scathe and the scorn candidly home to us;—and try to prepare for doing better.1864, Thomas Carlyle, “Friedrich Reduced to Straits; Cannot Maintain His Moldau Conquests against Prince Karl”, in History of Friedrich II....
  • Leechdoms regarding […] how the congressus sexuum is not holesome for a dry body, and how it scatheth not a hot nor a wet one: […]1865, “Leech Book. Book II.”, in Oswald Cockayne, editor, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England. Being a Collection of...

Synonyms of scathe

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of scathe

Forms of scathe

Noun
pluralscathes
alternative formscath
alternative formskaith
alternative formscaith
Verb
third-person singular presentscathes
present participlescathing
past participlescathed
pastscathed
second-person singular present (archaic)scathest
second-person singular past (archaic)scathedst
third-person singular present (archaic)scatheth

Origin of scathe

From Middle English scath, scathe [and other forms], from Old Norse skaði (“damage, harm; loss; death; murder”), from Proto-Germanic *skaþô (“damage, scathe; one who causes damage, injurer”, noun) (whence Old English sċeaþa, sċeaþu (“scathe, harm, injury”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keh₁t- (“damage, harm”). Cognate with German Schaden (“damage, harm”). cognates * Scots skaith * Dutch schade * German schaden * Norwegian skade * Swedish skada * Icelandic skaði * Polish szkoda * Russian шко́да (škóda) * Belarusian шко́дa (škóda) * Ukrainian шко́да (škóda)

From Middle English scathen (“to harm, attack, defeat”) [and other forms], from Old Norse skaða (“to damage, harm; to hurt, injure”), from Proto-Germanic *skaþōną (“to damage, harm; to injure”) (whence Old English sceaþian, scaþian (“to harm, hurt, injure, scathe”)), from *skaþô (“damage, scathe; one who causes damage, injurer”, noun); see further at etymology 1. Sense 2 (“to harm, injure, or destroy (someone or something) by fire, lightning, or some other heat source”) appears to derive from Paradise Lost by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674), perhaps influenced by scorch: see the 1667 quotation. Cognates * Albanian shkathët (“adept, clever, skilful”) * Danish skade (“to hurt, injure”) * Dutch schaden (“to injure”) * Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (skaþjan, “to harm, injure; to do wrong”) * Ancient Greek ἀσκηθής (askēthḗs, “unhurt”) * Old Frisian skathia (“to injure”) * Old High German skadôn (Middle High German schaden, German schaden (“to damage, harm, hurt; to be harmful”)) * Old Norse skeðja (“to hurt”) * Old Saxon scaðon (“to slander”) * Swedish skada (“to hurt, injure”)

Words formed from scathe

Words that rhyme with scathe

1 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about scathe

What does scathe mean?
Scathe means damage, harm, hurt, injury.
What is scathe in Tamil?
Scathe in Tamil is தீங்கு, துன்பம், காயம். See Scathe meaning in Tamil.
How do you use scathe in a sentence?
Let us take the scathe and the scorn candidly home to us;—and try to prepare for doing better.
What part of speech is scathe?
Scathe can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce scathe?
Scathe is pronounced /skeɪð/.
What is the plural of scathe?
The plural of scathe is scathes.

Words near scathe in the dictionary

  1. scatches
  2. scate
  3. scates
  4. scath
  5. scathand
  6. scathe
  7. scathead
  8. scatheads
  9. scathed
  10. scathefire
  11. scathefires

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: scathe (page history and authors); scathe (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); scathe (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); scathe (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); scathe (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-AcpoKrane-scathe.wav.

Cite this entry: “scathe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scathe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.