scratchingn.1
/ˈskratʃɪŋ/ Obsolete exc. dialect. Chiefly in plural.
1. The refuse of tallow remaining after refining.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > greasy or fatty material > [noun] > derived from animals > tallow > refuse of
crackling1621
scratching1899
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling ii. 55 Scratching, as they term greaves..is used when worms are not to be had.
1874 T. More in J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words 47/1 Greaves or Scratchings, sebi reliquiæ [sc. leavings of tallow].
1899 Fishing Gaz. 2 Dec. 455/1 Scratchings, or..the refuse of the tallow chandlers' boilings, is anything but a desirable substance to handle.
2. The residue of pork fat left after rendering lard: = crackling n. 3b.
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the world > food and drink > food > fat or oil > [noun] > strip of pig's fat or crackling
scratchingc1440
scraps1823
crackling1834
fat-back1903
c1440 Psalmi Penit. ci. 3 (1894) 36 My bones beth drie and forsoke, As scrachenis [L. cremium] that beth forfryed.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede II. ii. xviii. 26 She'd take a big cullender to strain her lard wi', and then wonder as the scratchins run through.
1883 Knowledge 18 Aug. 99/1 ‘Scratchings’—a delicacy greatly relished by our British ploughboys, but rather too rich in pork fat.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
scratchingn.2
/ˈskratʃɪŋ/ The action of scratch v. in various senses.
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the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > scratching > [noun]
clawing1398
scratching1548
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [noun] > scratch or graze > action of
scratching1548
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > [noun] > furrow
furrowc888
vorec1380
scratching1548
henting?a1605
voor1669
thorough1732
gaw1793
dead furrow1838
sheugh1844
mould furrow1851
back-furrow1855
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > [noun] > avoiding an action or condition > withdrawing (from a game or competition)
scratching1548
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > [noun] > scratching or scraping
scraping1561
scrabbling1582
screed?a1669
scratching1776
scratch1787
scritch-scratch1842
scrooping1849
scroopa1859
scrattling1861
scritch-scratching1881
scrape1886
scritch1953
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > hoeing > types of hoeing
horse-hoeing1731
scratch-hoeing1733
hoe-ploughing1770
shimming1792
listing1805
scratching1818
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > making grooves > a groove, channel, or furrow > shallow
scratch1662
grating1678
scoring1688
scratching1860
1548 H. Latimer Notable Serm. sig. B.iiii For what shall I looke for among thornes but prickyng and scratchyng?
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida ii. i. 29 I would thou didst itch from head to foote, and I had the scratching of the. View more context for this quotation
1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. xvii. 115 I heard a scratching about my bed; I am sure it must be rats.
1818 W. Cobbett Year's Resid. U.S.A. i. ii. 91 In the broad-cast method the afterculture must, of course, be confined to hoeing, or, as Tull calls it, scratching.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xv. 100 We crossed the Grimsel pass, and traced the [glacier] scratchings to the very top of it.
1884 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 7 Oct. 1/8 There is always more or less scratching of names of the Electors, and a recount would be necessary to settle this point alone.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 490 Pruritic dermatoses in which rubbing and scratching are induced.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
scratching tool n.
ΚΠ
1880 A. R. Wallace Island Life vii. 111 The harder blocks would serve as scratching and grinding tools.
C2.
scratching-board n. a board upon which are posted the names of those who have withdrawn from a competition.
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society > leisure > sport > general equipment > [noun] > list or programme
card1823
racecard1836
correct card1882
fixture-card1886
scratching-board1891
fixture-list1905
title card1918
1891 N. Gould Double Event 118 Judging from the scratching-board there would be good fields.
scratching ground n.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > poultry-keeping > [noun] > enclosure for poultry
walk1538
barton1552
poultry yard1715
runway1871
fowl-run1886
scratching ground1901
scratching-shed1902
1901 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan. 1/3 One of the Crick hens..wearied of her legitimate scratching-grounds, and flew over the low wall that divided the holdings of the neighbours.
scratching post n. a stake (or the like) against which animals rub themselves to allay itching.
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the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [noun] > post or stake for scratching
scratching post1890
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > rubbing or friction > [noun] > that which is rubbed or scratched
scratching post1890
1890 J. Macdonald Light in Afr. iii. 37 Cattle got among their tent ropes, and they erected ‘scratching posts’ to keep them away from their camp.
1895 Outing 27 47/1 We little dreamed that one of our nags would use the bow of our birch as a scratching post.
1968 New York City (Michelin) 73 Abercrombie and Fitch... One can find almost anything here, from a ten-cent fish hook to..a scratching post for your cat.
scratching-shed n.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > poultry-keeping > [noun] > enclosure for poultry
walk1538
barton1552
poultry yard1715
runway1871
fowl-run1886
scratching ground1901
scratching-shed1902
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > poultry-keeping > [noun] > enclosure for poultry > poultry-house
roostlOE
hencote1371
henhouse1429
poultry house1552
hen roosta1567
roosting place1577
hennery1833
scratching-shed1902
1902 L. Wright in Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 881/2 In several cases it [the colony plan] has been abandoned for the system of houses and scratching sheds.
scratching shelter n. a part of a poultry-run reserved for the dust-bath.
Draft additions 1993
(Examples in Additions senses at scratch v.)
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society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > [noun] > style of performing
rumblante1775
jazzification1924
in the groove1932
bag1960
karaoke1977
scratch1982
scratching1982
scratch-mixing1987
1982 N.Y. Times 8 Dec. c30/3 The Supreme Team includes a disk jockey who's adept at ‘scratching’, manipulating a record on a turntable in order to get a scratchy, percussive rhythm.
1985 M. Wilcox et al. Subverting Television (pamphlet) 2/1 The fluid scratching of Welsh and the Goldbacher/Flitcroft team..exploits all the sensual effects of video processing.
1987 Blues & Soul 3–16 Feb. 30/2 At the same time in the US of A, deejay Jazzy Jeff has made it to the American finals by winning the Philadelphia heat with his transformer-style scratching.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
scratchingadj.
/ˈskratʃɪŋ/ That scratches, in various senses of the verb.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [adjective] > scratched or grazed > scratching
scratching1577
the world > animals > by habits or actions > [adjective] > scratching
scratching1864
1577 T. Kendall tr. Politianus et al. Flowers of Epigrammes f. 3 A Crowne of thorne with scratching pricks our Christ did willing weare.
1614 S. Latham Falconry i. ix. 34 These kinde of scratching Hawks, that I did neuer loue should come too neere my fingers.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. ii. 9 Like the legs of scratching poultry.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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n.1c1440
n.21548adj.1577