noun · uncountable · rare

scorched earth

выжженная земля

verbrannte Erde

Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction…Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of all resources on it.

Meaning

2 senses

(uncountable)Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of all resources on it.
verbrannte Erde
вы́жженная земля́výžžennaja zemljá
(uncountable)The strategy of destroying all resources in an area of land in order to deny their use to an advancing enemy.

Translations

6 languages

Русский

By meaning 1

Translations:

Deutsch

By meaning 1

Translations:

Origin

Calque from Chinese 焦土 (jiāotǔ, “scorched earth; ravages of war”), originally in reference

Calque from Chinese 焦土 (jiāotǔ, “scorched earth; ravages of war”), originally in reference to the strategy adopted by the Chinese government in the Second Sino-Japanese War. First attested in 1937 as an idiom.

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