Scarify

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Scarify \Scar"i*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Scarified}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Scarifying}.] [F. scarifier, L. scarificare,
     scarifare, fr. Gr. ? to scratch up, fr. ? a pointed
     instrument.]
     1. To scratch or cut the skin of; esp. (Med.), to make small
        incisions in, by means of a lancet or scarificator, so as


        to draw blood from the smaller vessels without opening a
        large vein.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Agric.) To stir the surface soil of, as a field.
        [1913 Webster] Scariose

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  scarify
       v 1: puncture and scar (the skin), as for purposes or tribal
            identification or rituals; "The men in some African
            tribes scarify their faces"
       2: scratch the surface of; "scarify seeds"
       3: break up; "scarify soil"
       [also: {scarified}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  130 Moby Thesaurus words for "scarify":
     Vandyke, agonize, assail, attack, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish,
     blister, bloody, blotch, brand, castigate, chalk, chalk up, check,
     check off, chop, cicatrize, claw, convulse, crack, craze,
     crenellate, crenulate, crimp, crucify, cut, dapple, dash, deface,
     define, deform, delimit, demarcate, discolor, disfigure, distort,
     dot, engrave, excoriate, excruciate, flaw, flay, fleck, freckle,
     fustigate, gash, harrow, hatch, impale, impress, imprint, incise,
     indent, jag, kill by inches, kink, knurl, lacerate, lancinate,
     lash, line, macerate, machicolate, maim, make a mark, mar, mark,
     mark off, mark out, martyr, martyrize, mill, mottle, nick, notch,
     pencil, pepper, picot, pink, point, prick, print, punch, punctuate,
     puncture, punish, rack, riddle, rip, roast, savage, scab, scallop,
     scar, scathe, scorch, score, scotch, scourge, scratch, seal, seam,
     serrate, skin alive, slash, speck, speckle, split, splotch, spot,
     stain, stamp, stigmatize, streak, striate, stripe, tattoo, tick,
     tick off, tooth, torment, torture, trace, trounce, twist,
     underline, underscore, warp, wring