ill-scathe
Scots and northern English dialectal compound meaning serious harm or damage, physical or otherwise.
Definitions
Scots and northern English dialectal compound meaning serious harm or damage, physical or otherwise. 'Scathe' (injury) comes from Old Norse 'skaði' and survives in modern English only in 'unscathed'. The 'ill-' prefix intensifies it. Used in older legal and literary contexts to describe wrongful injury done to a person or their property.
The storm did ill-scathe to the harvest, leaving the farmers with barely enough grain to see out the winter.
Comments
(UK, _, dialectal, Scotland) Harm; hurt.
Comments
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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