A few weeks ago I stumbled across the word "scurrilous", meaning "given to to the use of course or vulgar language". I shared this word with two other people, but they had taken it to mean "scandalous".

I decided to have a look for the word in some online dictionaries, and the definition I had used only appeared in the American English versions of each dictionary; the British definition was indeed similar to "scandalous".

So, is the word commonplace/understood in Australian/British English, or do the dictionaries speak the truth?

(If it helps, I speak Australian English.)

A few weeks ago I stumbled across the word "scurrilous", meaning "given to the use of coarse or vulgar language". I shared this word with two other people, but they had taken it to mean "scandalous".

I decided to have a look for the word in some online dictionaries, and the definition I had used only appeared in the American English versions of each dictionary; the British definition was indeed similar to "scandalous".

So, is the word commonplace/understood in Australian/British English, or do the dictionaries speak the truth?

(If it helps, I speak Australian English.)