Webster's English Dictionary

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scorch

1. scorch \'sko.(*)rch\ vb [ME scorcnen, scorchen, prob. of Scand origin; 
   akin to ON skorpn]a to shrivel up - more at SHRIMP 1: to burn a surface so 
   as to change its color and texture  2a: to parch with or as if with intense 
   heat  2b: to afflict painfully with or as if with censure or sarcasm  3: to 
   devastate completely esp. before abandoning to the enemy - used in  the 
   phrase scorched earth esp. of property of possible use to an enemy 1: to 
   become scorched  2: to travel at great usu. excessive speed 
2. scorch n 1: a result of scorching  2: a browning of plant tissues usu. 
   from disease or heat 
3. scorch vt [alter. of 2score] dial chiefly Eng  : CUT, SLASH