scratch

• n. 擦傷；抓痕；刮擦聲；亂寫
• adj. 打草稿用的；湊合的；碰巧的
• vt. 抓；刮；挖出；亂塗
• vi. 抓；搔；發刮擦聲；勉強糊口；退出比賽

可能來自中古英語 scratten,抓，撓，最終來自 PIE*sker,砍，切，削，刮，詞源同 scar,scrape.

scratch

scratch: [15] Early Middle English had two words for ‘scratch’ – scrat and cratch; and it seems likely that scratch represents a blend of them. Where exactly they came from is not clear, although cratch is no doubt related to German kratzen ‘scratch’, and both probably had their origins in imitation of the sound of scratching.

scratch (v.)

c. 1400, probably a fusion of Middle English scratten and crachen, both meaning "to scratch," both of uncertain origin. Related: Scratched; scratching. Billiards sense of "to hit the cue ball into a pocket" is first recorded 1909 (also, originally, itch), though earlier it meant "a lucky shot" (1850). Meaning "to withdraw (a horse) from a race" is 1865, from notion of scratching name off list of competitors; used in a non-sporting sense of "cancel a plan, etc." from 1680s. To scratch the surface "make only slight progress in penetrating or understanding" is from 1882. To scratch (one's) head as a gesture of perplexity is recorded from 1712.

scratch (n.)

1580s, "slight skin tear produced by a sharp thing," from scratch (v.). Meaning "mark or slight furrow in metal, etc." is from 1660s. American English slang sense of "money" is from 1914, of uncertain signification. Many figurative senses (such as up to scratch, originally "ready to meet one's opponent") are from sporting use for "line or mark drawn as a starting place," attested from 1778 (but the earliest use is figurative); meaning "nothing" (as in from scratch) is 1918, generalized from specific 19c. sporting sense of "starting point of a competitor who receives no odds in a handicap match." Sense in billiards is from 1850. Scratch-pad is attested from 1883.

Scratch (n.2)

in Old Scratch "the Devil," 1740, from earlier Scrat, from Old Norse skratte "goblin, wizard," a word which was used in late Old English to gloss "hermaphrodite;" probably originally "monster" (compare Old High German scraz, scrato "satyr, wood demon," German Schratt, Old High German screz "a goblin, imp, dwarf;" borrowed from Germanic into Slavic, as in Polish skrzat "a goblin").

1. My mother always made me feel I wasn't coming up to scratch.

母親總是使我覺得自己不夠優秀。

來自柯林斯例句

2. The old man lifted his cardigan to scratch his side.

老人撩起開襟毛衣撓了撓身體的一側。

來自柯林斯例句

3. Building a home from scratch can be both exciting and challenging.

建立一個全新的家庭既讓人興奮又富於挑戰。

來自柯林斯例句

4. Knives will scratch the worktop.

小刀會在工作台上留下劃痕。

來自柯林斯例句

5. Scratch my back—I've got an itch.

幫我撓撓背——有點癢。

來自柯林斯例句