Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1100-1200
Language: Anglo-French
Origin: escorge, from Old French escorgier 'to whip', from Latin corrigia 'long thin piece of leather'

scourge

1 noun
     
scourge1 [countable]
1 something that causes a lot of harm or suffering
scourge of
the scourge of unemployment
the scourge of war
2SCC a whip used to punish people in the past
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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