Meanings
comparative more scurrile · superlative most scurrile
- archaicScurrilous.
the wretched affectation of scurril laughter
1668, Thomas Spratt, The Works of Mr Abraham Cowley, Preface3 more examples
For had an Angel bin his discipliner, unlesse it were for dwelling too much upon Ciceronianisms, & had chastiz'd the reading, not the vanity, it had bin plainly partiall; first to correct him for grave Cicero, and not for scurrill Plautus, whom he confesses to have bin reading not long before
1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC’Tis not scurrile this, but chaste, honest, most part serious, and even of religion itself.
1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, III.1.1.iA scurrile or obscene jest[…] will better advance you at the court of Charles than your father's ancient name.
1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC
Origin
- Latinscurrilis
- Frenchscurrile
- Englishscurrile
From French scurrile, from Latin scurrilis.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
scurrile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scurrile
“scurrile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scurrile. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scurrile,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scurrile.
Source: scurrile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.