The word seal does not have a precise origin, but it is very likely that it comes from the word seal, which is a red paste that when melted is used to close a letter or to seal a document and in this way its authenticity is guaranteed. If we take into account that the seal carries a mark that serves to identify someone, we already have an orientation to understand the meaning of the word seal.
By scourge can be understood three different things: the marks or consequences of a disease or a moral defect that leave some mark on the person who has it, to refer disparagingly to a type of person and, finally, to refer to what it represents an evil for society.
Aftermath of a physical ailment or an immoral attitude
Certain diseases leave some type of sign in those who suffer from them and these signs or traces are known as blots. In the same way, defects of moral order also leave some kind of visible sign (for example, in the look or in the gesture).
To refer to people
It is said that a person is a scourge when he has a behavior that harms himself and others. In this sense, it is used to refer to people without any profession and who do not contribute anything to society, lazy people or those who take advantage of others and act as if they were parasites. In Spanish, we use synonyms such as vague, useless, lazy or lazy. The use of the word has other equally negative meanings in some Latin American countries (for example, in Argentina it is synonymous with stingy, in Ecuador it is equivalent to bad person and in Colombia it is used to refer to indiscreet people).
Social lapses
To refer to those vices or attitudes harmful to society, the word scourge is used and the concept of "social scourge" has been coined. For something to receive this derogatory qualification it has to be either undesirable behavior or a social problem of the first order. In this sense, alcoholism, drug addiction, terrorism, corruption, mobbing, child malnutrition or street violence are some of the social problems that are considered a social scourge.
It must be borne in mind that these types of realities are more than a problem and cause consequences for society as a whole.
Photos: Fotolia - Syda Productions / Elnur
