scald
UK: skɔːld | US: skɑːld
vt. to burn with hot liquid or steam
n. a burn caused by hot liquid or steam
vt. to heat a liquid to just below boiling point (archaic/culinary use)
The word "scald" traces back to Old Norse skāla, reflecting the Viking influence on Old English. Originally tied to heating or burning, it narrowed to specifically describe burns from hot liquids. The culinary sense (heating liquids) emerged later but is now rare. The morpheme "scald" preserves the original spelling, with "scal-" conveying heat and "-d" marking verbal action.
Be careful not to scald yourself with the boiling water.
The chef scalded the milk before adding it to the recipe.
She suffered a painful scald from the spilled tea.
In medieval times, scalding was used as a method of torture.
The toddler cried after touching the scalding pot.