Information on the word ‘scower’

verbs

I swear I've heard, and read the phrase before.

  • "He scowered the land, far and wide".

I have used the word many times, but recently someone said to me that it isn't a word. There is

  • scour (1) clean or brighten the surface of (something) by rubbing it hard, typically with an abrasive or detergent. [Lexico]

But that wasn't the definition I was looking for. I finally found

  • scour (2) search and search for something or someone.

This was obviously the sense I was looking for, but I wanted more information and YourDictionary gave me this:

  • scower [obsolete] Alternative form of scour [verb]

I would like some more explanation on this. Please and thanks.

Edit: Why is the word 'obsolete' as well as not being more widely used?

Best Answer

I would like some more explanation on this [scower vs scour].
Why is the word 'obsolete' as well as not being more widely used?

The explanation is actually very simple. Scower is not an obsolete word; as you point out, it's still used. Rather, it's an obsolete Spelling. There's only one verb with those meanings, it's pronounced /skawr/, and it's usually spelled scour. But it has also been spelled scower, and that's the way you apparently learned to spell it. English spelling is commodious enough to provide several convenient spellings for just about any word, and often does.

Spelling a word differently does not change the word; it's still the same word.
Spelling is orthography, which is technological. Language, by contrast, is natural.

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