scurrilous

English

Etymology

From Latin scurrīlis (“buffoon-like”) + -ous, from scurra (“a buffoon”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈskʌ.ɹə.ləs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈskɜɹələs/, /ˈskʌɹələs/

Adjective

scurrilous (comparative more scurrilous, superlative most scurrilous)

1. (of a person) Given to vulgar verbal abuse; foul-mouthed.
2. (of language) Coarse, vulgar, abusive, or slanderous.
   • 2022 February 3, Heather Stewart, quoting Munira Mirza, “Boris Johnson’s policy chief quits over PM’s ‘scurrilous’ Savile remark”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     She said Johnson was “a better man than many of your detractors will ever understand”, adding that it was “so desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the leader of the opposition”.

3. Gross, vulgar and evil.

   We have had our address used by scurrilous crooks in the past to gain assets by fraud.

   • 2013, Alex Himelfarb, Jordan Himelfarb, Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word: A Different Take on Taxes in Canada‎^[2]:

     "Some days, I try to imagine how scurrilous it would be for a left-leaning government in Canada to embark on such a costly political agenda for, say, a 10-year period, and still find itself unable to convince Canadians that the majority have benefited from this."

   • 1967, Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, The Amazing Spider-Man #48:

     "Instead, another dangerous killer now roams our streets, thanks to that scurrilous, sinister super-heel!"

Related terms

• scurrile
• scurrilously
• scurrilousness
• scurrility

Translations

foul-mouthed

• Bulgarian: мръсен (bg) (mrǎsen), неприличен (bg) (nepriličen)
• Danish: sjofel, grov
• Dutch: grofgebekt (nl)
• Finnish: rääväsuinen (fi), ruokoton (fi)
• German: ordinär (de), flegelhaft (de), pöbelhaft, niederträchtig (de), gemein (de), possenreißerisch, zotig (de)
• Maori: ngutu momoho
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: grov (no), nederdrektig

• Portuguese: obsceno (pt)
• Romanian: injurios (ro), obscen (ro), ordinar (ro), abuziv (ro)
• Russian: оскорби́тельный (ru) (oskorbítelʹnyj), гру́бый (ru) (grúbyj)

coarse, vulgar, abusive, or slanderous

• Bulgarian: циничен (bg) (ciničen), вулгарен (bg) (vulgaren)
• Danish: grov, uanstændig, krænkende
• Dutch: vulgair (nl), grof (nl)
• Finnish: ruokoton (fi)
• German: vulgär (de), obszön (de), ehrenrührig (de), verleumderisch (de), unflätig (de), zotig (de), ehrenrührig (de), verunglimpfend (de)
• Latin: scurrīlis
• Maori: ngutu momoho
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plump, vulgær (no), sladderaktig

• Portuguese: obsceno (pt)
• Russian: непристо́йный (ru) (nepristójnyj), гру́бый (ru) (grúbyj)

gross, vulgar and evil

• German: bösartig (de), widerlich (de), übel (de), niederträchtig (de), gemein (de)
• Russian: ме́рзкий (ru) (mérzkij)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: scurrile (it) m or f

Further reading

• “scurrilous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “scurrilous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “scurrilous”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.