Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

old scratch

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.15 in modern English

Syllables: old scratch
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

1

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Example Sentences

"“Lisieux is a little town in Normandy,” she said. “I was there a few days with your father, one summer, long ago. It’s a country full of old stories, folklore, and traditions; and the people still believe in the Old Scratch pretty literally. […]”"

Etymology

Probably an alteration of scrat, from Middle English scrat, skratt, scratte, ultimately from Old Norse skratti (“a type of demon”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: scrat, skratti

Synonyms

Old Ned Old Nick Old Serpent Aduwallah Adversary Al-Shaytaan Antichrist archfiend Ash-Shaytan Azazel Beast Beelzebub

Questions

What does old scratch mean?: The Devil.
Where does old scratch come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce old scratch

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “old scratch”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “old scratch”.
Repeat and practice — Say “old scratch” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.