# scald

> English word · Verb · IPA /skɔld/ · frequency rank #78,107

## Definitions
1. To burn with hot liquid.
2. To heat almost to boiling.

## Etymology
From Middle English scalden, assumed to stem from Old Northern French escalder (compare central Old French eschauder, eschalder), from Late Latin excaldāre (“bathe in hot water”), from ex- (“off, out”) + cal(i)dus (“hot”).
Cognate with Old Swedish skalda, skolda, skolla, skala, Swedish skålla, Danish skolde, Norwegian skålda, skaalda, Icelandic skálda.
Also compare Old Norse skálda (“to rot, fall off, of hair”), to skalli (“baldness”), borrowed as Middle English scalle (“hair loss infektion, rash, blistering”), English scall.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/scald