scotch

[William Hupy]

Not capitalized and as a verb, this means to put an end to, crush, stamp out. As a noun to cut, score or slash. Where does this come from and how does it relate to that beloved country north of England?

[David Myer]

Good question, William. According to phrases.org.uk it comes from the old French escocher to cut. Presumably score in the sense of marking the surface, has the same origin?

Here's the full entry:

Scotch: To Scotch a rumour is to expose a rumour. Scotch here has nothing to do with Scotland, but rather the old French word "escocher" - to cut.

It's ambiguous, though, because there's a line in Macbeth: "We have scotched [i.e. wounded] the snake, not killed it". Incidentally, the word "butterscotch" contains the same word - the sweetmeat was made out of sugar and butter and poured into a pan to set; before it set, it was "scotched" horizontally and vertically so that when it was cold it could be broken into squares along those lines. (VSD)

[William A Hupy]

Thanks. A most interesting elucidation.