scorn

English

Etymology

Verb from Middle English scornen, schornen, alteration of Old French escharnir, from Vulgar Latin *escarnire, from Proto-Germanic *skarnjan, which could be from *skeraną (“to shear”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”)), or possibly related to *skarną (“dung, filth”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱerd-, *(s)ḱer- (“dung, manure, filth”)). Noun from Old French escarn (cognate with Portuguese escárnio, Spanish escarnio and Italian scherno).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /skɔːn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /skɔɹn/

  • Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)n

Verb

scorn (third-person singular simple present scorns, present participle scorning, simple past and past participle scorned)

1. (transitive) To feel or display contempt or disdain for something or somebody; to despise.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], page 150:

     The Cry is ſtill, they come: our Caſtles ſtrength / Will laugh a Siedge to ſcorne

   • 1871, C. J. Smith, Synonyms Discriminated:

     We scorn what is in itself contemptible or disgraceful.

2. (transitive) To reject, turn down.

   He scorned her romantic advances.

   • 1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 39:

     Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, / Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman ſcorn'd.

3. (transitive) To refuse to do something, as beneath oneself.

   She scorned to show weakness.

4. (intransitive) To scoff, to express contempt.
   • 1578–1579, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention‎^[1], London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, published 1591, →OCLC:

     For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb which takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (to feel contempt): see also Thesaurus:despise
• (to scoff): deride, mock, ridicule, scoff, sneer

Translations

to feel contempt or disdain for something or somebody

• Arabic: اِحْتَقَرَ (iḥtaqara)
• Bulgarian: презирам (bg) (preziram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鄙薄 (zh) (bǐbó)

• Czech: opovrhovat (cs), pohrdat (cs)
• Dutch: minachten (nl), verachten (nl)
• Finnish: halveksia (fi), halveksua (fi)
• French: mépriser (fr), dédaigner (fr)
• German: verachten (de)
• Greek: περιφρονώ (el) (perifronó)
• Hebrew: לבוז
• Hungarian: megvet (hu)
• Italian: disprezzare (it), disdegnare (it)
• Japanese: 蔑む (ja) (sagesumu), 見下す (mikudasu)
• Kazakh: елемеу (elemeu), елемеу, елең қылмау (elemeu, eleñ qylmau)
• Latin: contemno
• Maori: whakareko, tokoreko
• Old English: ǣwan
• Polish: gardzić (pl), lekceważyć (pl)
• Portuguese: desprezar (pt), desdenhar (pt), menosprezar (pt)
• Quechua: alqochay
• Romanian: disprețui (ro)
• Russian: презира́ть (ru) (prezirátʹ), относи́ться с пренебрежением (otnosítʹsja s prenebreženijem)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: презирати

  Roman: prezirati (sh)

• Slovak: opovrhovať
• Spanish: despreciar (es) m, desdeñar (es), menospreciar (es)
• Vietnamese: khinh bỉ (vi), khinh miệt (vi)

to reject, turn down

• Arabic: استنكف
• Bulgarian: оъхвърлям с презрение (oǎhvǎrljam s prezrenie)
• Czech: odmítat (cs) impf
• Finnish: torjua (fi), antaa piupaut
• German: verschmähen (de)
• Gothic: 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (frakunnan)
• Greek: περιφρονώ (el) (perifronó)
• Italian: disprezzare (it)
• Japanese: 撥ね付ける (ja) (hanetsukeru)
• Latin: spernō, reiciō
• Polish: wzgardzić, odrzucić (pl)
• Romanian: respinge (ro), refuza (ro)
• Russian: отвергать (ru) impf (otvergatʹ)
• Slovak: ohrdnúť, odmietnuť
• Spanish: rechazar (es)

to refuse to do something, as beneath oneself

• Finnish: kieltäytyä (fi)

to scoff or express contempt

• Arabic: استخف
• Bulgarian: присмивам се (prismivam se)
• Czech: opovrhovat (cs) impf, pohrdat (cs) impf
• Finnish: halveksia (fi), ylenkatsoa, ivata (fi)
• French: mépriser (fr)
• German: verspotten (de)
• Japanese: 嘲る (ja) (あざける, azakeru), 嘲う (ja) (あざわらう, azawarau)
• Maori: hīkaka te ihu, whakahoe
• Polish: szydzić (pl), drwić (pl)
• Romanian: disprețui (ro), urî (ro)
• Russian: насмехаться (ru) (nasmexatʹsja), глумиться (ru) (glumitʹsja)
• Spanish: escarnecer (es)
• Swedish: förakta (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 蔑視／蔑视 (zh) (mièshì), ^{(please verify)} 蔑视 (zh) (mièshì)

Noun

scorn (countable and uncountable, plural scorns)

1. (uncountable) Contempt or disdain.
   • 1967, John Berryman, Berryman’s Sonnets, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

     Rain of tears, real, mist of imagined scorn

2. (countable) A display of disdain; a slight.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi], page 100, column 1:

     VVith ſcoffs and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.

   • 1685, John Dryden, The Despairing Lover:

     Every sullen frown and bitter scorn / But fanned the fuel that too fast did burn.

3. (countable) An object of disdain, contempt, or derision.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 44:13:

     Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

Usage notes

• Scorn is often used in the phrases pour scorn on and heap scorn on.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:contempt

Derived terms

• laugh to scorn
• scornful

Translations

contempt, disdain

• Bulgarian: презрение (bg) n (prezrenie)
• Catalan: menyspreu (ca) m, desdeny (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 輕蔑／轻蔑 (zh) (qīngmiè)

• Czech: opovržení (cs) n
• Dutch: minachting (nl) f, verachting (nl) f
• Finnish: ylenkatse, pilkka (fi)
• French: mépris (fr) m, dédain (fr) m
• German: Verachtung (de) f
• Greek: περιφρόνηση (el) f (perifrónisi)
• Hebrew: שאט-נפש (sh'át-néfesh)
• Hungarian: megvetés (hu)
• Irish: dímheas m, tarcaisne f
• Italian: disprezzo (it) m
• Japanese: 軽蔑 (ja) (keibetsu), 鄙薄 (ja) (hihaku)
• Korean: 경멸 (ko) (gyeongmyeol)
• Latin: contemptus m
• Persian: حقارت (fa) (heqârat)
• Plautdietsch: Spott m
• Polish: pogarda (pl) f, lekceważenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: desprezo (pt) m, escárnio (pt) m, desdém (pt) m
• Romanian: dispreț (ro) n
• Russian: презре́ние (ru) (prezrénije)
• Slovak: opovrhnutie n, pohŕdanie n
• Spanish: desprecio (es) m, desdén (es) m, escarnio (es), ludibrio (es) (formal)
• Swedish: förakt (sv), hån (sv)
• Tocharian B: maṣṣāt

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN

Anagrams

• Crons, corns