See Also: Screech(medicine)
screech(1)(dictionary)
screech(2)(dictionary)
screech(dictionary)
screech owl(encyclopedia)
screech(dictionary)

ASC (iou) and screech(1) (iou)


ASC (iou)



ASC abbreviation.
Army Service Corps.

screech(1) (iou)



screech noun1. M16.
[Alt. of SCRITCH noun. Cf. SCREECH verb.]
A loud harsh high piercing cry or scream characteristically expressing sudden intense pain, alarm, etc.; a shrill grating cry. M16.
N. Hawthorne We could hear..a railway train..and its discordant screech. R. Park She gave a screech of astonishment.
b. transf. a loud harsh squealing sound. M19.
Any of various birds having a harsh discordant cry, esp. the barn owl, swift, or mistle thrush. Now dial. M17.
Comb.: screech beetle a water beetle, Hygrobia hermanni, with large eyes, which can squeak by rubbing the tip of the abdomen against the wing cases; screech owl (a) the barn owl (from its discordant cry which is supposed to be an evil omen); (b) any of various small American owls of the genus Otus, allied to the Scops owls; esp. O. asio of N. America; (c) fig. a bearer of evil tidings; a person who presages misfortune.
screechy adjective given to screeching; loud, shrill, and discordant: E19.