Glossary of some Scottish words
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- Category: Stories & Poems
- Published on Saturday, 02 March 2013 07:52
- Written by Maggi Kaye
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Glossary of some Scottish words
A’ - all
Abee - to let alone
Aboon, abune - above
Aboot - about; alternatively
Ae - one
Afore - before, ere
Aft - often
A’gates - everywhere
Agin - against
Ain - own
Airn - iron
Airt(h) - direction, quarter
Aisins, easins - eaves (space between wall head and rafters)
Ajee - aside, awry, ajar
Alane - alone
Alang - along
Alicht - alight
Amaist - almost
Amang - among
An - if
Ance - once
Ane - a single person or thing
Aneath - beneath, under
Anent - about
Ase, asse, alse - ashes
Atweel - indeed, certainly, of course
Atween - between
Aucht - to own; anything
Ava’ at all
Awa - away; contradiction
Ay - always
Backend - autumn
Back-gaen - not thriving
Baudrons - a cat (originally meant a hare)
Bawbee - a halfpenny
Beel, beal - to suppurate, fester
Begood - began
Begunk - to cheat
Bicker - wooden drinking bowl; move quickly, noisily; to quarrel
Bigg - to build, biggin - a building
Bield - a shelter; bold
Birse - bristle (with anger)
Blad - a sheet or leaf
Blinman’s baws - puff balls
Bluidy fingers - foxgloves
Bourtree - an elder
Bowte - a bolt, to play bowte to rebound
Brae - hill, slope, braeheid - hilltop
Brat - an apron, cloth
Braws - finery, braw - fine
Breek - to tuck in
Brose - unboiled porridge made by pouring boiling water on meal; kale brose - shredded kale boiled with oatmeal in stock
Bucht - sheepfold, to herd sheep
Bud, bude, bood - behoved, had to
Busk - to prepare, dress
But n’ ben - but -outer part - kitchen, ben - inner part - best room
Ca’ - call
Callant - a lad
Cannie - careful, cautious;
Cantie - comfortable, cheerful
Cap, cappie, caup - a wooden bowl for food and drink
Carlin - an old woman, witch
Caul - cold
Cazy, cassie - a straw creel
Chafer - a chafing dish; blacksmith’s tool
Chap - knock, tap
Champit - mashed
Chattle - nibble
Chessel - a cheese vat
Chiel - a fellow, child, servant
Clash - gossip, scandal; a large quantity; carried clash - hearsay
Cleekit - caught, hooked up
Cleek - to cheat
Cleugh - a gorge, chasm, cliff, narrow glen
Clout - to patch or mend; to beat; a cloth
Close - lane or passage
Clue - thread
Cog,- small wooden pail or bowl
Contramaxcious - perverse, self willed
Cottar - a cottages; a tied house
Coup - overturn, tip, fall
Couples, cupples, sloping rafters
Cow, cowe - turf; a branch; slip of wood
Craig - a rock, crag
Cubbie - a basket made of heather or straw
Cuddie - a small horse/pony
Cuff - the nape of the neck
Cuist - to cast, throw
Cunchie - curtsey
Cutty - short, small, young person
Daffin’ jaunty behaviour
Darg - a day’s work, a task
Dern - secret, hidden
Dicht - wipe clean, rub, sweep; to tell off
Ding - to knock or beat; defeat or overcome
Dirl - to cause to vibrate; a painful blow
Disjasket - in disrepair, depressed, weary
Donnert - scatterbrained
Douce - sober, modest
Doup - the buttocks, the end part of something
Dowie - sad, weary dispirited
Dree - to suspect, fear; to suffer, endure
Dreep - drip
Dreich - dull, dreary; tedious
Drooth - drought, thirst
Drumlie - cloudy, muddy, gloomy, sullen
Dwammy - faint
Dwyne - to dwindle, fade, waste away
Dulfu’ sorrowful
Een - eyes; evening; one
E’en - eyes
Enoo - now, just now, soon
Ether-stane - adder stone
Ettle - intend, plan, aim
Faid - sportsmen, sport
Fail - turf used for building dykes etc.
Fank - a sheep pen
Fankle - to entangle, muddle
Farrand - seeming
Fash - to trouble
Fauld - a pen, sheepfold
Feat - neatly made
Fell - very
Fendin’ a provision
Ferlie - a strange phenomenon; a fairy
Firsle - to rustle
Fit - foot
Flake, fluke - a fence, hurdle, gate
Fleg, fley - to frighten
Fleech, fleitch - to flatter, cajole
Flit - to move house, grazing etc.,
Flyte -to quarrel, scold
Forbye - besides; except
Forfochten - exhausted, worn out
Fremyt - strange
Fuss - to fetch
Gab - to mouth, to speak
Gabbit - concerning the mouth
Gaen - given; gone
Gar - to cause, make
Gate, gait, gaet - way, road; fashion; pace
Gaunt, gant - to yawn
Gilp - splash; to gilp - jerk
Gilpin - frolicsome youngster
Gin - if
Gled - kite (bird)
Gliff - a sudden fright or shock; glimpse, glance
Glower - scowl
Gowan - daisy
Gowk - cuckoo; simpleton
Gowpen - a handful
Greet - cry, weep
Gryse - a pig, piglet
Gude, Guid - good; large
Gude-man/wife - master/mistress of the house
Guddle - a mess; a person who makes a mess; to catch fish by hand
Haaf - half; open sea
Haar - foggy, raw
Hafflins - partly, nearly; a hafflin’ - a youngster
Hail - to pour
Hait - a very small quantity
Hantle - a considerable quantity
Hap - to cover, wrap
Happock -a small hump
Haud - hold
Haurn - to toast
Haver, haiver - to talk nonsense
Havermeal - oatmeal
Het - hot; hit
Hind - a servant
Hizzie - a hussy; a housewife
Holm - flat ground beside a river
Houlet, howlet, hoolet - and owl
Howd - to swing, bob up and down
Howdie - midwife
Howe - hollow; lowest part
Howk - dig, unearth
Hum - bad mood; bad odour
Hurcheon - hedgehog
Ilk, ilka - each, every; the same
Ingle - a fire burning in the hearth
Ither - other
Jabble - splash, spill over
Jag - prick, pierce, inject
Jalouse - suspect, imagine
Jaw - to pour, spill
Jink - a quick sudden movement, dodge
Kaim - comb
Keek - peep, glance
Ken - know
Kep - to catch
Kimmer - a gossip; witch
Kintra - country
Kirn - churn
Kist - a chest, trunk
Knoit - to knock
Kye - cattle
Knowe - a hillock, mound
Lade - a millrace
Lair - a place to lie down
Lave - the rest, what’s left
Lease - to release
Leugh - to laugh
Leuk - to see to something
Lick - smack
Linn - a waterfall, gorge, deep pool
Lintie - linnet
Lippen - to trust
Lish, lith - nimble
Loof, luif, lufe - the palm of the hand
Loon - lad
Loup, lowp - leap’ to throb
Louthe - abundance
Lowne, loune - calm
Luckie, Lucky -an old woman; a witch; a female innkeeper
Lug - ear
Lum - chimney
Mart - market; provision
Maun - must; mauna - must not
Mell - mallet
Mickle, muckle - large, many
Mim - prudish, prim
Mirk - darkness
Mool, moul - crumbled earth
Moolins - crumbs
Mun, maun - must
Na - not, no, none
Naigie, naig - pony
Neb - nose
Neist - next
Nieve - a hand, fist
Nocht - nothing
Nor - than
Oo’ - wool
Oorie - uncanny, gloomy
Or - before; until
Owre - over
Paddo, paddock - a frog; a toad
Park - an enclosed field
Pauky - witty, clever
Pech - to pant, deep breath
Pig - an earthen vessel, storage jar
Plouter, plitter - wade through mud or water, mess about with water
Pooch - pocket
Pook, pouk - to pluck
Poother - powder
Pow - head; a pool, creek
Pownie - pony
Preen - pin
Premeese - to suppose
Press - cupboard
Prie, pree - to taste
Prig - haggle, beseech
Puckle, pickle - a small amount
Put past - put away, save
Pyke, pike - to pick
Pyock - a poke or bag
Quha - who
Quhair - where; when
Quhen - when, as soon as
Quhile - while, until, a time
Quhilk - which, who, whoever
Quo’ - said
Raches - hounds
Randy - Aggressive, irrepressible
Rashes - rushes or reeds
Rax - reach out, stretch, strain
Ream - cream, froth
Reck - to matter
Redd - clean out, put in order
Reek - smoke
Riddle - course-mesh sieve
Rive - to split
Rock - distaff, spindle
Routh - plenty
Rug - to pull
Rump - to plunder
Sair - sore; very
Sark - a man’s shirt, a chemise, a nightdress
Saugh - a willow
Scaith - harm
Scale, skail - to spill, scatter
Scart - scratch, scrape
Scaud - scald; glimpse
Scraich, skraich - scream, shriek
Scrieve - to move, glide; written
Scunner - loathing, put off, recoil
Sheil - a shelter
Shoogle - to shake
Shoon - shoes
Siccar, sicker - sure, certain, safe
Skep - straw basket; straw beehive
Skirl - shrill sound, scream
Sma - small
Smee - smooth
Sonsie, sonsy - wholesome
Sook - to suck
Sowens - dust from oatmeal steeped and cooked
Snell - bitter cold, severe
Spaewife - A female fortune teller
Speer, speir - to ask
Stour - dust
Swarf, swerf - to faint
Sweir - reluctant, unwilling
Syne - then, since
Taen - taken
Taigle - hinder, tarry
Tent - guard, care
The - you
Thir - these
Thrang - very busy
Thrawn - twisted, cross-grained
Threep - urge, claim
Tine, tyne - to lose
Toom - empty
Tyke - a dog
Unco - strange, unusual
Wale - to choose
Want - to need, be without
Wat - know; promise; wet
Wear - to separate
Waur - worse
Wean - a child
Weel-faured - handsome
Wheen - a number, a few
Wheesht - hush, be quiet
Widdershins - the wrong way, back to front
Win - achieve; harvest; acquire
Won - to dwell; quarried
Woo’ - wool
Wyte - to blame
Yammer - to fret, cry, talk incessantly
Yell, yeld, eild - barren
Yill - ale
Yowe - ewe
Yowl - howl