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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Scarify \Scar"i*fy\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Scarified}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Scarifying}.] [F. scarifier, L. scarificare, scarifare, fr. Gr. ? to scratch up, fr. ? a pointed instrument.]
1. To scratch or cut the skin of; esp. (Med.), to make small incisions in, by means of a lancet or scarificator, so as to draw blood from the smaller vessels without opening a large vein.
2. (Agric.) To stir the surface soil of, as a field.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
scarify
verb
1: puncture and scar (the skin), as for purposes or tribal identification or rituals; "The men in some African tribes scarify their faces"
2: scratch the surface of; "scarify seeds"
3: break up; "scarify soil" [also: {scarified}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
130 Moby Thesaurus words for "scarify": Vandyke, agonize, assail, attack, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish, blister, bloody, blotch, brand, castigate, chalk, chalk up, check, check off, chop, cicatrize, claw, convulse, crack, craze, crenellate, crenulate, crimp, crucify, cut, dapple, dash, deface, define, deform, delimit, demarcate, discolor, disfigure, distort, dot, engrave, excoriate, excruciate, flaw, flay, fleck, freckle, fustigate, gash, harrow, hatch, impale, impress, imprint, incise, indent, jag, kill by inches, kink, knurl, lacerate, lancinate, lash, line, macerate, machicolate, maim, make a mark, mar, mark, mark off, mark out, martyr, martyrize, mill, mottle, nick, notch, pencil, pepper, picot, pink, point, prick, print, punch, punctuate, puncture, punish, rack, riddle, rip, roast, savage, scab, scallop, scar, scathe, scorch, score, scotch, scourge, scratch, seal, seam, serrate, skin alive, slash, speck, speckle, split, splotch, spot, stain, stamp, stigmatize, streak, striate, stripe, tattoo, tick, tick off, tooth, torment, torture, trace, trounce, twist, underline, underscore, warp, wring
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