To scold, rebuke, or call someone a rascal; to treat harshly with reproachful language.
From 'be-' (to affect or treat as) plus 'rascal' (from Old French 'rascaille,' likely related to scraping or scratching). The verb form means to subject someone to the status or treatment of a rascal.
This word captures a whole genre of Shakespearean insults—berascal someone and you're not just calling them a rogue, you're publicly shaming them in the style of a theater audience.
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