Scourer Etymology[]
Probably choice of the word is that they go from cleaning you out (ie taking all your cash) to ethnic cleansing. They seem a bit like bounty hunters, a bit like extortion racketeers. Scourers also hint at the stereotypical wild west lawlessness commonly associated with the United States.
3.(obsolete) A rover or footpad; a prowling robber. In those days of highwaymen and scourers. — Macaulay. [1]
British English: scour If you scour something such as a place or a book, you make a thorough search of it to try to find what you are looking for. [2]
someone who travels widely and energetically
“he was a scourer of the seven seas” [3]
2 archaic : to clear (a region) of enemies or outlaws
3 : to clean by purging : purge [4]
One who scours or roams the streets by night; a rover, robber, or footpad; specifically, one of a band of young scamps who, in the latter half of the seventeenth century, roamed the streets of London and committed various kinds of mischief. [5] (Vaudree (talk) 10:51, March 10, 2016 (UTC))
Scourer Identities[]
I've been researching a Salem witch trials for years and can only conclude that the Harry Potter universe is an alternate history, as Jo's statement that some of the judges were Scourers, along with accusers. But all of the judges, clergy, and so on are accounted for after the trials, so that doesn't work. Some of the accusers such as Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, Betty Parris, etc. disappear from the record after the trials. This really seems like a case of Jo not doing her research. LupineMoon (talk) 03:19, 4 August 2022 (UTC)