French word

écorcher

Pronunciation

IPA/ekɔʁʃe/

Meaning

  • verbscrape

Example

Il s'est écorché le bras en tombant.

He scraped his arm when he fell.

Illustration for écorcher (scrape)

More examples

Les enfants se sont écorchés en courant au parc.

The children scraped themselves while running in the park.

Core concept

A rough scrape removes part of a surface's outer skin, or makes a spoken word come out damaged.

Common phrases

  • s'écorcher le genou

    scrape one's knee

  • s'écorcher la main

    scrape one's hand

  • s'écorcher le bras

    scrape one's arm

Similar words

se blesser: To get hurt and sustain an injury involving bleeding, bruising, or other damage.
s'égratigner: To develop a small scratch or minor scrape from slight rubbing.
se couper: To sustain a bleeding cut from a knife or another sharp object.
se faire mal: To experience severe pain in part of the body after falling or colliding with something.

Definition in French

Faire disparaître ou abîmer la peau superficielle par frottement ; au sens figuré, prononcer un mot de façon incorrecte.

Word origin

French écorcher comes through Old French escorchier from Latin excorticare, meaning to strip off an outer covering.

Usage tips

  • With a body part, French commonly uses the reflexive form and a definite article, as in s'écorcher le bras.

Other meanings

  • skinverb
  • mispronounceverb

Related words

  • écorchurescrapenoun
  • écorchéscrapedadjective

Word lists with this word