Scarring

scar ¹  (skär)

n.

1. A mark left on the skin after a surface injury or wound has healed.

2. A lingering sign of damage or injury, either mental or physical: nightmares, anxiety, and other enduring scars of wartime experiences.

3. Botany A mark indicating a former attachment, as of a leaf to a stem.

4. A mark, such as a dent, resulting from use or contact.

v. scarred, scar·ring, scars

v.tr.

1. To mark with a scar.

2. To leave lasting signs of damage on: a wretched childhood that scarred his psyche.

v.intr.

1. To form a scar: The pustule healed and scarred.

2. To become scarred: delicate skin that scars easily.

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[Middle English, alteration of escare, from Old French, scab, from Late Latin eschara, from Greek eskhara, hearth, scab caused by burning.]

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scar ²  (skär)

n.

1. A protruding isolated rock.

2. A bare rocky place on a mountainside or other steep slope.

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[Middle English skerre, from Old Norse sker, low reef; see sker-¹ in Indo-European roots.]