Both Uses
spurn
in
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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- For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin?†p. 129.1 *spurns = rejects as not good enough - She speaks much of her father, says she hears
There's tricks i' th' world, and hems, and beats her
heart,
Spurns enviously at straws, speaks things in doubt
That carry but half sense.†p. 205.4
Definitions:
-
(1)
(spurn) reject as not good enough
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Less commonly, and archaically, spurn can mean to strike or kick.