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scald.

To burn with hot liquid.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/skɔld/US/skɑld/US, cot-caught-merger/skɔːld/Received-Pronunciation/skɒld/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To burn with hot liquid.

    to scald the hand
  2. To heat almost to boiling.

    Scald the milk until little bubbles form.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *ḱleh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥h₁éh₁yeti Proto-Italic *kalēō Latin caleō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin calidus Latin caldus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin excaldō Old Northern French escalderbor. Middle English scalden English scald From Middle English scalden, assumed to stem from Old Northern French escalder (compare central Old French eschauder, eschalder), from Late Latin excaldāre (“bathe in hot water”), from ex- (“off, out”) + cal(i)dus (“hot”). Cognate with Old Swedish skalda, skolda, skolla, skala, Swedish skålla, Danish skolde, Norwegian skålda, skaalda, Icelandic skálda. Also compare Old Norse skálda (“to rot, fall off, of hair”), to skalli (“baldness”), borrowed as Middle English scalle (“hair loss infection, rash, blistering”), English scall.

noun/skɔld/US/skɑld/US, cot-caught-merger/skɔːld/Received-Pronunciation/skɒld/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A burn, or injury to the skin or flesh, by hot liquid or steam.

  2. A paste, made by mixing flour with hot or boiling water (causing starches in it to gelatinize and hold more water) and allowing that mixture to sit and cool, which is added to bread dough to produce a softer bread that takes longer to stale.

  3. Poor or bad land.

    Appalachia
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *ḱleh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥h₁éh₁yeti Proto-Italic *kalēō Latin caleō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin calidus Latin caldus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin excaldō Old Northern French escalderbor. Middle English scalden English scald From Middle English scalden, assumed to stem from Old Northern French escalder (compare central Old French eschauder, eschalder), from Late Latin excaldāre (“bathe in hot water”), from ex- (“off, out”) + cal(i)dus (“hot”). Cognate with Old Swedish skalda, skolda, skolla, skala, Swedish skålla, Danish skolde, Norwegian skålda, skaalda, Icelandic skálda. Also compare Old Norse skálda (“to rot, fall off, of hair”), to skalli (“baldness”), borrowed as Middle English scalle (“hair loss infection, rash, blistering”), English scall.

noun/skɔld/US/skɑld/US, cot-caught-merger/skɔːld/Received-Pronunciation/skɒld/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Scaliness; a scabby skin disease.

    obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Alteration of scall or scalled. Compare cognate Old Swedish skold, skoldh, skol, Swedish skål, skoll, skolla, Danish skold, skolde, Norwegian skåld (“rash”).

adj/skɔld/US/skɑld/US, cot-caught-merger/skɔːld/Received-Pronunciation/skɒld/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Affected with the scab; scabby.

    obsolete
  2. Paltry; worthless.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Alteration of scall or scalled. Compare cognate Old Swedish skold, skoldh, skol, Swedish skål, skoll, skolla, Danish skold, skolde, Norwegian skåld (“rash”).

noun/skɔld/US/skɑld/US, cot-caught-merger/skɔːld/Received-Pronunciation/skɒld/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Alternative form of skald.

    alt-of · alternative
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.