| 释义 | 
		scour·ing \ˈskau̇riŋ, -rēŋ\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English, from scouren to scour + -ing 1.  : the act or action of one that scours 2.  : the process of cleaning raw stock, yarns, or cloth; specifically  : the removal of impurities (as natural grease and foreign substances) from raw wool usually by a series of washings in soap, alkalies, or chemical solvents 3.   a.  : material removed by scouring or cleaning : refuse   < the patients in the pump room don't swallow the scourings of the bathers — Tobias Smollett >  b.  : the lowest rank of society : scum — usually used in plural   < the associate of the scourings of the jail and hulks — Charles Dickens > 4.  : the erosion of earth or rock by the action of flowing water or of a glacier |