- scabrous (adj.)
- 1570s (implied in scabrously), from Late Latin scabrosus "rough," from Latin scaber "rough, scaly," related to scabere "to scratch, scrape" (see scabies). Sense in English evolved from "harsh, unmusical," to "vulgar" (1881), "squalid" (1939) and "nasty, repulsive" (c.1951).