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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

scorched earth en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 焦土 (jiāotǔ, “scorched earth; ravages of war”), originally in reference to the strategy adopted by the Chinese government in the Second Sino-Japanese War. First attested in 1937 as an idiom.

Meanings

  1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative spelling of scorched-earth.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
more scorched earth Degree=Cmp lexicographic
most scorched earth Degree=Sup lexicographic

wikipedia: Second Sino-Japanese War

scorched earth en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 焦土 (jiāotǔ, “scorched earth; ravages of war”), originally in reference to the strategy adopted by the Chinese government in the Second Sino-Japanese War. First attested in 1937 as an idiom.

Meanings

  1. (uncountable) Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of all resources on it.
  2. (uncountable) The strategy of destroying all resources in an area of land in order to deny their use to an advancing enemy.

Deriveds

scorched-earth policy

Translations (19)

da brændte jords taktik (Translations) · cmn 焦土 (Translations) · es tierra chamuscada (Translations) · ru вы́жженная земля́ (Translations) · sv brända jordens taktik (Translations) · es tierra quemada (Translations) · nl verschroeide aarde (Translations) · it terra bruciata (Translations) · sv bränd jord (Translations) · ja 焦土 (Translations) · vi tiêu thổ (Translations) · fr terre brûlée (Translations) · fi poltettu maa (Translations) · ka გადამწვარი მიწა (Translations) · hu felperzselt föld (Translations) · de verbrannte Erde (Translations) · es tierra achicharrada (Translations) · ar سِيَاسَةُ الأَرْضِ المَحْرُوقَة (Translations) · pl spalona ziemia (Translations)

wikipedia: Second Sino-Japanese War