Etymology First attested in the first part of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English *excoriaten (only attested in its past participle), borrowed from Late Latin excoriātus perfect passive participle of excoriō (“to take the skin or hide off, flay, skin”), from ex- (“out off, from”) + corium (“hide, skin”) + -ō. Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English, later archaic.
1
to remove the skin and/or fur of, to flay, to skin
The teacher continued to excoriate the student after his academic issues.
Madeleina di Farja had described Ori, and Cutter had envisaged an angry, frantic, pugnacious boy eager to fight, excoriating his comrades for supposed quiescence.2004, China Miéville, Iron Council, Trade paperback edition, published 2005, →ISBN, page 464:
3 more examples
Mr. Green, a former city public advocate and candidate for mayor in 2001, ran ads excoriating Mr. Cuomo’s ethics.2006 September 13, Patrick Healy, “Spitzer and Clinton Win in N.Y. Primary”, in New York Times:
The tabloids branded him forevermore as the “love rat,” and Pasternak was excoriated for peddling mawkish fantasy.2022 April 5, Tina Brown, “How Princess Diana’s Dance With the Media Impacted William and Harry”, in Vanity Fair:
Police are under pressure to accelerate the criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire after an excoriating report found that companies operated with “systematic dishonesty” and that all 72 deaths were avoidable.2024 September 4, Robert Booth, Emine Sinmaz, “Police under pressure to accelerate criminal investigation into Grenfell fire”, in The Guardian:
Etymology First attested in the first part of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English *excoriaten (only attested in its past participle), borrowed from Late Latin excoriātus perfect passive participle of excoriō (“to take the skin or hide off, flay, skin”), from ex- (“out off, from”) + corium (“hide, skin”) + -ō. Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English, later archaic.