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a. Contempt or disdain felt toward a person or object considered despicable or unworthy:viewed his rivals with scorn.
b. The expression of such an attitude in behavior or speech; derision:heaped scorn upon his rivals.
c. The state of being despised or dishonored:held in scorn by his rivals.
2. ArchaicOne spoken of or treated with contempt.
tr.v.scorned, scorn·ing, scorns
1. To consider or treat as contemptible or unworthy:an artist who was scorned by conservative critics.
2. To reject or refuse with derision:scorned their offer of help. See Synonyms at despise.
3. To consider or reject (doing something) as beneath one's dignity:"She disapproved so heartily of Flora's plan that she would have scorned to assist in the concoction of a single oily sentence"(Stella Gibbons).
[Middle English, fromOld Frenchescarn, of Germanic origin.]
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.