Soom, vb. to swim. Not Dan.
sömme, but loss of
w before oo, cp. the two Norse forms svömma and
symma. Cp. soote, the last word in the first line of the
Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Teem, vb. to empty.
It is not necessary to derive this
from Norse tömme, "to empty." There is an O. E.
tōm from which the Sco. adj. toom probably comes.
Toom is also a verb in Sco. Teem is simply this same word
by characteristic Sco. change of o to e. (See § 17.)
This also explains the length of the vowel.
Trak, vb. to pull, not necessarily
Norse trekka, cp. the L. G. trekken.
Wid, sb. wood.
Not O. N. viðr nor Dan.
ved. The vowel is against it in both cases. But just as above
toom becomes teem, so wood > wid, cp.
Sco. guid, "good," pit, "put," etc. (See § 17.)
Hence also the shortness of the vowel in wid.
Were, sb. spring, cp.
Latin ver. Var,
vaar in Scand. does not account for the e
in the Sco. word.
Yird, sb. earth.
Not from Dan. jord. See next word.
Yirth, sb. earth, an inorganic
y (see § 18). Not from O. N. jörð.
For d in yird see § 19.
I have adopted the following tests of form, meaning and
distribution in determining the Scand. source of loanwords:
1. The diphthong ou, ow corresponding
to O. N. ou, O. E. ea.
2. Ai, ay corresponding to
O. N. æi, O. E. ā as far as such words
can be determined from modern dialects according to § 20.
3. The spirant th
corresponding to O. N. ð, and O. E. d.
4. Consonantal assimilation of nk to
kk, mb to bb, mp to pp, ðl
to ll, zd and rd to dd, corresponding to
similar assimilation in Scand.
5. Other consonantal and inflexional forms
that are Scand., as opposed to O. Nhb. d for Scand. d,
O. E. ð excluded, see §§ 19 and 23.
6. A word that is used in a sense distinctively Scand.,
as opposed to Eng. or L. G., is to be regarded as a loanword.
7. The distribution of a word in South England diall.,
or in O. F., O. S. or M. L. G., indicates that the word
is not a Scand. loanword.
8. On the other hand, if a word occurs exclusively
in Scand. settlements in England and Scotland, it is to be regarded as due
to Scand. influence in Scotch in spite of L. G. parallels.
9. The presence of a word in O. E. excludes
Scand. influence, except in cases where the O. E. word has been shown
to be a loanword. See Steenstrup and Kluge.
The following dates it may be well to remember:
Barbour's "Bruce" finished about 1375.
Wyntoun's Chronicle written about 1420.
Henry the Minstrel's "Wallace" written about 1450.
Dunbar lived from 1460 to 1520.
Douglas lived from 1475 to 1520.
Sir David Lyndsay lived from 1490 to 1555.
Alexander Scott lived from 1547 to 1584.
"The Complaynt of Scotland" was written about 1549.
Alexander Montgomery lived from 1540 to 1610.
Allan Ramsay lived from 1686 to 1758.
Robert Burns lived from 1759 to 1796.
"The Bruce," Wyntoun's "Cronykale" and the "Wallace"
belong, then, to the early period of Scotch, which, for convenience,
has been called Old Scotch. The last half of the 15th Century is a
transition period. The language of Dunbar and Douglas is already
Middle Scotch. Middle Scotch of the 16th Century is further represented
by Lyndsay, Alexander Scott and Montgomery. "The
Complaynt of Scotland"
is Central Scotch of the middle of the 16th
Century. Ramsay represents Early New Scotch. The language of
Burns is in all essentials present Scotch. From the Scottish War of
Independence down to the Union of the Crowns the literary standard
of Scotland was Central Scotch. After the Union there was
no longer a Scotch language of literature and Central Scotch became
a mere spoken dialect like the other dialects of Scotland. The
writings of Ramsay and Burns represent local dialects just as the
large number of Scotch dialect writers of the last and this century
have written in their own peculiar local vernacular. The great
majority of loanwords are taken from "The Bruce," "The Wallace,"
Douglas, Dunbar, Scott and Montgomery. "The Bruce"
has a large number of Scand. elements; it represents, however, literary
Scotch and not Aberdeen Scotch of 1375. "Johnnie Gibb,"
written in modern Aberdeen dialect, has not a very large Scand. element,
while "Mansie Wauch" (modern Edinburgh dialect) has a
far larger number. In "The Wallace" Scand. elements are quite
prominent. So in the writings of Douglas, Scott and Montgomery.
"The Complaynt of Scotland" has comparatively very few
loanwords from Scand., while on the other hand the French element
is more prominent than in the other works. Norse elements are
not prominent in Lyndsay. None of the Scotch writers has as
many Scand. words as Dunbar. We may say that they are nearly
as prominent in Dunbar's works as in the Ormulum, Midland English
of about 300 years before Dunbar's works were written.
The numbers given in the references are self-explanatory. They
are generally to page and line, in some cases to book and verse, as
in Bruce and Wyntoun. T.W.M. refers to Dunbar's "Twa
Mariit Wemen." F. to "The Flyting with Kennedy." F. after
Montgomery's name refers to "The Flyting." G.T. refers to
Dunbar's "Golden Targe," and C. and S. to Montgomery's
"Cherrie and the Slae." M.P. to the "Miscellaneous Poems"
and S. to the "Sonnets."
Only words that are specifically Scotch in form or usage have been
included. Very well known Scotch words, that occur in older Scotch
as well as the modern dialects, such as blether,
busk, ettle, kilt, etc.,
are given without references to texts where they have been found,
otherwise one or more references are given in each case. For the
sake of comparison and illustration Shetland and Cumberland forms
are frequently given.
Wherever a W. Scand. source is accepted fora loanword
the O. N. form is given if it be different from O. Ic.
Examples from Danish dialects or Swedish dialects are given as Dan.
dial. or Sw. dial. Those from Norse dialects are cited as Norse
simply. Those that are specifically literary Norse are cited as
Dano-Norse.
LOANWORDS.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Agait,
adv. uniformly. R.R. 622. Sco. ae, one, + O. N.
gata literally "ae way," one way.
Agait, adv. astir, on the way.
See Wall.
Agrouf, adv. on the stomach,
grovelling. Ramsay, II, 339. O. N. á grúfu, id.
See grouf.
Airt (ę̆rt), vb. urge, incite,
force, guide, show. O. N. erta, to taunt, to tease,
erting, teasing. Norse erta, örta, id. Sw. dial.
erta, to incite some one to do a thing. Sw. reta shows
metathesis. M. E. ertin, to provoke.
Allgat, adv. always, by all means.
Bruce, XII, 36; L.L. 1996. O. N. allu gatu. O. Ic.
öllu gǫtu. See Kluge, P. G.2 I., 938.
Algait, algatis, adv. wholly.
Douglas, II, 15, 32; II, 129, 31. See Kluge,
P. G.2 I., 938.
Althing, as a sb. everything.
Gau, 8, 30, corresponding to Dan. alting. "Over al thing," Dan.
over alting. Not to be taken as a regular Sco. word, however.
Gau has a number of other expressions which correspond closely to those
of the Dan. original of Kristjern Pedersen, of which Gau's work is a
translation.
Anger, sb. grief, misery. Bruce,
I, 235. Sco. Pro. 29. O. N. angr, grief, sorrow. See
Bradley's Stratmann, and Kluge and Lutz. The root ang is general
Gmc., cp. O. E. angmod, "vexed in mind." M. L. G.
anxt, Germ. angst, Dan. anger. The form of the word
in Eng., however, is Scand.
Angryly, adv. painfully. Wyntoun,
VI, 7, 30. Deriv., cp. Cu. angry, painful, O. N.
angrligr, M. E. angerliche. The O. Dan. vb.
angre, meant "to pain," e.g., thet angar mek, at thu skal
omod thorn stride (Kalkar).
Apert,
adj. bold. Bruce, XX, 14. apertly, boldly, XIV, 77.
Evidently from O. N. apr, sharp, cp. en
aprasta
hrið, "sharp fighting," cited in Cl. and V. Cl. and V. compares
N. Ic. napr, "snappish," cp. furthermore apirsmert,
adj. (Douglas, II, 37, 18), meaning "crabbed," the second element of
which is probably Eng. Apr in O. N. as applied to persons
means "harsh, severe" (Haldorson).
Assil-tooth, sb. molar tooth.
Douglas, I, 2, 12. See Wall.
At, conj. that. O. N.
at, Norse, Dan. at, to be regarded as a Scand. word.
Might in some places be due to Celtic influence, but its early presence,
and general distribution in Scand. settlements in England, Scotland,
Shetland, etc., indicates that it is Scand.
Aweband, sb. "a band used for
tying cattle to the stake." Jamieson, Lothian. O. N.
há-band, "vinculum nervos poplitis adstringens" (Haldorson).
Norse habbenda, "to tie cattle with a rope between the knees to
keep them from running away." Cp. O. Sw. haband, Sw. dial.
haband, "a rope that unites the oar with the oarlock."
Awkwart, prep. athwart, across.
Wallace, III, 175; II, 109. Same as the Eng. adj. "awkward" which was
originally an adv. Etymologically it is the O. N. afugr
(O. Ic. öfugr) + Eng. ward (Skeat), cp. the Norse vb.
afvige, to turn off. I have not found the prepositional use of
the word in Eng. Cp. "toward."
Awsome, adj. terrible, deriv.
from awe (O. N. ági). The ending some is Eng.
O. N. ágasamr, Norse aggsam, means "turbulent,
restless."
Aynd (ēnd), sb. O. N.
andi, breath, O. Sw. ande, Norse ande, Dan.
aande.
Aynding, sb. breathing, deriv.
See aynd.
Ayndless, adj. breathless.
Bruce, X, 609. See aynd.
Bait, vb. to incite. Dunbar,
21127. O. N. bæita, O. Ic. beita. See B-S.
Baith, bath (bēth), pron. both.
M. E. bōþe, bāþe, Cu. beatth, Eng.
both, O. N. bāðir, O. Dan.
bāðe. Skeat.
Baittenin, pr. p. thriving.
Jamieson. O. N. batna, Eng. batten. See Skeat,
and Kluge and Lutz.
Baittle (bētl), sb. a pasture,
a lea which has thick sward of grass. Jamieson, Dumfries. O. N.
bæita, "to feed," bæiti, pasturage. Cp. Norse
fjellbæite, a mountain pasture.
Ban,
vb. to swear, curse. Dunbar, 13, 47; Rolland, II, 680. O. N.
banna, to swear, to curse, banna, a curse, Norse
banna, to swear, banning, swearing, W. Sw. dial.
bænn id., Dan. bande, to swear, to wish one bad luck,
O. S. banna id. M. Du. bannen means to
excommunicate. This is the L. G. meaning. The Sco. usage is
distinctly Scand. It is also a Northern word in Eng. diall. Cp.
Shetland to ban, to swear.
Bang, vb. to beat. Sat. P. 39,
150. O. N. banga, O. Sw. banka, Norse,
banke, to beat, to strike. Cp. Shetland bonga, in
"open de door dat's a bonga," somebody is knocking, literally
"it knocks" Norse det banka. Bang is very frequently
used in the sense of rushing off, cp. Dalrymple's translation of
Leslie, I, 324, 7.
Bangster, sb. a wrangler.
Sat. P. 44, 257. Evidently Norse bang + Eng. suffix ster.
See bang vb. Cp. camstarrie, where the second syllable
corresponds to that in Germ. halsstarrig.
Bark, vb. to tan, to harden.
Dunbar F. 202 and 239. Ramsay, I, 164, "barkit lether," tanned leather.
O. N. barka, to tan, Norse barka, to tan, to harden,
M. E. barkin. General Scand. both sb. and vb. In the sense
"to tan" especially W. Scand., cp. Sw. barka, to take the
bark off. O. Sw. barka, however, has the meaning "to tan."
Barknit, adj. clotted, hardened.
Douglas, II, 84, 15. pp. of vb. barken, to tan. See above.
Bask, adj. dry, withering
(of wind). Jamieson, Dumfries. Dan. barsk, hard, cold,
en barsk Vinter, a cold winter. Cp. Sco. "a bask daw," a windy
day. M. L. G. barsch and basch do not agree in
meaning with the Sco. word; besides the sk is Scand. For loss
of r before sk cp. hask from harsk.
Bauch, bawch, baugh, adj. awkward,
stiff, jaded, disconsolate, timid. Sat. P. 12, 58; Dunbar Twa.
M.W. 143; Rolland, IV, 355; Johnnie Gibb, 127, 2. O. N.
bagr, awkward, clownish, inexperienced, unskilful. Bauchly,
poorly, in Ramsay, II, 397.
Bayt, vb. to feed, graze. Bruce,
XIII, 589, 591; Lyndsay, 451, 1984. O. N. bæit, to feed, to
graze, causative from bita, literally means to make to bitE.
Norse bita, to graze, Sw. beta, M. E. beyten.
In many diall. in Norway the word means "to urge, to force."
Cp. bait.
Beck,
sb. a rivulet, a brook. Jamieson. O. N. bekkr,
O. Sw. bäkker, Norse bekk, O. Dan. bæk.
Sw. bäck, a rivulet. In place-names a test of Scand. settlements.
Beet, vb. to incite, inflame.
Burns, 4, 8. Same as bait, incite, q.v. Cp. Cu. "to beet t'yubm,
to supply sticks, etc. to the oven while heating" (Dickinson).
Big, begg, sb. barley. Fergusson,
II, 102; Jamieson, Dumfries. O. N. bygg, Dan. byg.
See Wall. Cp. Shetland big.
Begrave, vb. to bury. Douglas,
II, 41, 25; IV, 25, 22; IV, 17, 8. Dan. begrave, Norse
begrava, O. Sw. begrava, begrafwa, to bury.
Possibly not a loanword.
Bein, bene, bein, adj. liberal,
open-handed, also comfortable, pleasant. Douglas, III, 260, 23;
Fergusson, 108; Sat. P. 12, 43. Beine, hearty, in Philotus,
II, is probably the same word. O. N. bæinn.
Beir, vb. to roar. Douglas,
II, 187, 1. See bir, sb.
Big, vb. to build, dwell, inhabit.
Dunbar T.M.W. 338; Dalr., I, 26, 19; Sco. pro. 5. O. N.
byggia. See Wall. Sco. "to big wi' us," to live with us, cp.
Norse ny-byddja, to colonize.
Bigging, bygine, sb. a building.
O. N. bygging, a building, habitation. Scand. diall. all
have the form bygning, so O. Sw. bygning. The word
may be an independent Sco. formation just as erding, "burial,"
from erde, "to bury"; layking, "a tournament," from
layke, "to sport"; casting, "a cast-off garment," from
cast; flytting, "movable goods," from flyt,
"to move"; hailsing, "a salute," from hailse; and Eng.
dwelling, "a house," from vb. dwell. Cp. however
Shetland bogin.
Bing, sb. a heap, a pile.
Douglass, II, 216, 8. O. N. bingr, a heap, O. Sw.
binge. Norse bing more frequently a heap or quantity
of grain in an enclosed space. O. Dan. byng, bing.
Bir, birr, beir, sb. clamor,
noise, also rush. S. S. 38; Lyndsay, 538, 4280. O. N.
byrr, a fair wind. O. Sw. byr. Cp. Cu. bur
and Shetland "a pirr o' wind," a gust. Also pronounced bur,
bor.
Birring, pr. p. flapping
(of wings). Mansie Wauch, 159, 33. See bir.
Bla, blae (blē), adj. blue,
livid. Douglas, III, 130, 30; Irving, 468. O. N. blá, blue,
Norse blaa, blau, Sw. blå, Dan. blaa. Not from
O. E. blēo.
Blabber,
vb. to chatter, speak nonsense. Dunbar F., 112. O. N.
blabbra, lisp, speak indistinctly, Dan. blabbre id., Dan.
dial. blabre, to talk of others more than is proper. M. E.
blaber, cp. Cu. blab, to tell a secret. American dial.
blab, to inform on one, to tattle. There is a Gael.
blabaran, sb. a stutterer, which is undoubtedly borrowed from
the O. N. The meaning indicates that.
Blaik, vb. to cleanse, to polish.
Johnnie Gibb, 9, 6. O. N. blæikja, to bleach, O. Sw.
blekia, Sw. dial. bleika. All these are causative verbs
like the Sco. The inchoative corresponding to them is blæikna in
O. N., N.N., blekna in O. Sw., blegne in Dan.
See blayknit. Cp. Shetland bleg, sb. a white spot.
Blayknit, pp. bleached. Douglas,
III, 78, 15. O. N. blæikna, to become pale, O. Sw.
blekna, Norse blæikna id. O. N. blæikr, pale.
Cp. Cu. blake, pale, and bleakken with i-fracture.
O. E. blāc, blæcan.
Bleck, vb. put to shame. Johnnie
Gibb, 59, 34, 256, 13. O. N. blekkja, to impose upon,
blekkiliga, delusively, blekking, delusion, fraud;
a little doubtful.
Blether, bledder, vb. to chatter,
prate. O. N. blaðra, to talk indistinctly, blaðr,
sb. nonsense. Norse bladra, to stammer, to prate, Sw. dial.
bladdra, Dan. dial. bladre, to bleet. Cp. Norse
bladdra, to act foolishly.
Blether, sb. nonsense. Burns
32, 2, 4 and 4, 2, 4. O. N. blaðr, nonsense. Probably the
Sco. word used substantively.
Blome, sb. blossom. Bruce, V, 10;
Dunbar, I, 12. Same as Eng. bloom from O. N.
blómi.
Blome, vb. to flourish,
successfully resist. Douglas, IV, 58, 25. "No wound nor wapyn mycht
hym anis effeir, forgane the speris so butuus blomyt he." Small
translates "show himself boastfully." The word blómi in
O. N. used metaphorically means "prosperity, success."
Blout, blowt, adj. bare, naked,
also forsaken. Douglas, III, 76, 11; IV, 76, 6. O. N. blautr,
Norse blaut, see Cl. and V. The corresponding vowel in O. E.
is ea: blēat. The O. N. as well as the N.N. word
means "soft." The O. E. word means "wretched." In Sco. blout
has coincided in meaning with blait. The Dan. word blot is,
on account of its form, out of the question.
Bodin,
adj. ready, provided. Douglas, III, 22, 24; Dunbar, 118, 36;
Wyntoun, VII, 9, 213. From boðinn, boðja (E.D.D.).
Bolax, sb. hatchet. Jamieson.
O. N. bolöx, a poleaxe, Norse bolöks, O. Sw.
bolöxe, bolyxe, O. Dan. bulöx, Dano-Norse
bulaks. Ormulum bulaxe (see further Brate).
Bole, sb. the trunk of a tree.
Isaiah, 44, 19. O. N. bolr, the trunk of a tree, Norse
bol, bul, O. Sw. bol, bul, Sw. dial.
bol id.
Boldin, vb. to swell. Douglas,
II, 52; I, II, 130, 25. Norse bolna, older bolgna, Dan.
bolne, M. E. bollen (also bolnin). The Sco.
word has developed an excrescent d after l. In Lindsay,
127, 3885, boildin, adj. pp. swollen.
Bolle, sb. a measure. Bruce,
III, 221; Wyntoun, VII, 10, 519, 521, 523. O. N. bolli,
a vessel, blotbolli, a measure, Sw. bulle. Rather than
from O. E. bolla (Eng. bowl).
Boun, adj. bent upon, seems to
have almost the idea of "compelled to." Gol. and Gaw. 813. O. N.
búinn. See Wall under bound, and Cl. and V. under
bua B. II.
Boune, vb. to prepare, to prepare
to go, to go. Houlate, I, 23; Poet. R. 107, I; Gol. and Gaw. 59, 13, 40.
See bown.
Bowdyn, pp. adj. swollen. Dunbar
T.M.W. 41, 345; Montg. F. 529. See boldin.
Bowk, sb. trunk of the body, body.
Dunbar, 248, 25; Rolland, II, 343. O. N. búkr, the trunk,
the body, Norse būk, Dan. bug, O. Sw. buker.
Specific Scand. usage. O. E. būc, like O. F.
buk and Germ. bauch, meant "belly."
Bow, sb. a fold for cows. Douglas,
III, 11, 4. O. N. ból, a place where cows are penned, also
den, lair or lying-place of beasts. Norse bol, Shetland bol,
bøl, a fold for cattle. In Psalms XVII, 12, bole occurs in
the sense of "a lion's den."
Bown, adj. ready, prepared. L.L.
1036. O. N. búinn. Not Eng., but a loanword from O. N.,
and as Kluge P. G.2 I, 939, has pointed out shows
also Norse influence in the Midland dial.
Bowne, vb. to swell. Irving, 230.
O. N. bolgna to swell, Norse bolna, Dan. bolne.
Shows characteristic Sco. change of l to w. In
boudin, Irving, 467, an excrescent d has developed before
the l became u (w). Wallace, VI, 756, bolnyt,
swelled. So in Wyntoun, IX, 17, 5. Boldnit with excrescent
d occurs in Douglas, II, 84, 16.
Bra, brae,
bray (brē), a slope, declivity. O. N. brá, see
Bradley's Stratmann. Cp. Jöstedalsbrä in Western Norway.
Braid (brēd), sb. a sudden
movement, an assault (Small). Douglas, III, 251, 2. O. N.
bragð, a sudden motion, a quick movement, tricks or sleights in
wrestling. O. Sw. braghþ, a sudden motion. Norse, Sw.
bragd, manner of execution, exploit. The fundamental idea in the
Sco. and the O. Nh. word is sudden movement. The O. E.
brægd meant deceit, fraud.
Braith, adj. hasty, violent.
Wallace, X, 242. O. N. bráðr, sudden, hasty, O. Dan.
braadh, Norse braad. Cp. braahast (E. Norse), great
hurry, O. Sw. brader, brodher, hasty, violent, Orm.
bra, angry. Brothfall (Orm), a fit, broth (Eng.
dial.), in Skeat's list. Braithful, violent, sharp.
Braithly, adv. violently, suddenly.
O. N. bráðliga, hastily. Cp. E. Norse braaleg
adj., and M. Dan. bradelig. O. N. bráðorðr means
"hasty of speech."
Brokit, Brukit, adj. streaked,
spotted. Burns, 569. O. Sw. brokoter, Norse brokut,
Dan. broget, variegated, striped. Cp. dannebrog, the
Danish flag. Same as Cu. breukt. Probably the same with Shetland
brogi, in "a brogi sky," cloudy. May possibly be Eng. Exists in
M. L. G.
Brod, sb. a sharp point. Wyntoun,
VI, 14, 70. O. N. broddr, Norse, Sw. brodd, Orm.
brodd. (See Brate.)
Brod, vb. to prick, spur on,
incite. C.S. 123; Douglas, III, 3, 20; Dunbar T.M.W. 330.
O. N. brodda, to prick, to urge. Dan. brodde means
"to equip with points," a vb. later developed out of the sb.
Bront, sb. force, rush, shock.
Douglas, I, 90, 20; II, 161, 28. "At the first bront we swept by."
See Skeat brunt.
Bud, sb. a bribe, an offer.
Lyndsay, 436, 1616; Dunbar T.M.W. 142. O. N. bod,
an offer, Norse bod, Sw. bud, Dan. dial. bud, an
offer at an auction. Cp. O. E. friðbote, a peace-offering,
O. N. frið + boð.
Bught, sb. a corner or stall
where cows are milked. Ramsay, II, 539. O. N. bugt, a bowing,
a bight, Norse bugt, Dan. bugt.
Buller, vb. to trickle, bubble.
Winyet, II, 62. O. N. buldra, Norse bulrdra. See
E.D.D. cp. Sw. bullra, to make an indistinct noise. O. Fr.
bulder, L. G. bullern (see Koolman),
Germ. poltern all have more the idea of loud noise, clamor,
as the Norse word sometimes has.
Lyndsay, 226, 95, uses the word in this sense. It may be genuine Eng.
Busk, vb. to prepare, dress, adorn,
ornament. O. N. búask from búa sik, to make ready, to
ornament. See Wall. Exhibits W. Scand. reflexive ending sk.
The Gael. busgainnich, to dress, to adorn, is a loanword from
O. N.
Buskie, adj. fond of dress,
Jamieson, busk sb. dress, decoration. See busk vb.
Buith (ū), sb. booth, shop.
Winyet, 1, 23, 2. O. N. búð, shop, O. Dan. both,
bodh. O. Sw. boð, Norse bud, Sw. bod,
Dan. dial. bod. M. E. bōþe, cp. M. L. G.
bode.
Byng, vb. to heap up. Douglas,
III, 144, 5. See bing sb.
Byrd, vb. impers., it behoved.
Bruce, VI, 316. O. N. byrja, to behove, beseem, pret.
burði, Norse byrja id., pret. burde, O. Dan.
böræ
, Sw. böra.
Bysning, adj. strange, monstrous,
terrible, Douglas, I, 29, 7; I, 37, 5; II, 70, 17. M. E.
biseninge, ill-boding, monstrous, from O. N. býsna,
to portend, Norse bisna, to marvel over.
Bysning, sb. a strange person,
an unusually unfortunate person. Douglas, I, 2544; I, 339. O. N.
býsna, to portend, býsn, a strange and portentous thing.
Norse bysn, a prodigy, bysning, curiosity. See the adj.
Cp. Shetland sóni-bosni, O. N. sjonar-býsn, a marvel.
Cadye,
adj. wanton. Lyndsay,
LXXXVII, 2567. Also written cady, caidgy, caigie;
sometimes means "sportive, cheerful." Dan. kaad, merry, lusty,
lustful. So Sw. kåt, O. N. katr, merry, cheerful,
Norse kaat. Cp. Philotus 5, "the carle caiges," where the same
word is used as a vb. to wanton, be wanton.
Caller, adj. cool. Fergusson, 73.
Very common in modern Sco. diall. O. N. kaldr, Norse
kall, cold. Seems to be a case of the Norse inflexional r
not disappearing in Sco.
Cangler, a wrangler. Ramsay, II, 482.
Norse kengla, kæingla, kjæingla, to quarrel.
A Sco. vb. cangle, to quarrel, also exists. Cp. O. N.
kangin-yrði, jeering words, Yorkshire caingy, cross,
ill-tempered.
Cappit, vb. pret. strove. Douglas,
II, 154, 21. O. N. kapp, contest, zeal, deila kappi
við, strive with. Norse kapp id. kappa, reflexive,
to race. Dan. kamp, O. E. camp, cempam.
The Sco. word exhibits W. Scand. assimilation of mp to
pp, the form kapp,
however, also existed in O. Sw. and exists in N.Dan. In Cu. a
capper is one who excels. This is probably the same word.
See, however, E.D.
Careing (kēr), pr. p. driving,
from care, caire, to drive. Douglas, III, 166, 10;
Wallace, IX, 1240. O. N. köyra, O. Ic. keyra,
Norse køyra, to drive, ride, O. Ic. keyrsla,
a driving, Norse kjørsel, id. Cp. Shetland care, id.
Monophthongation in O. Sw. köra, Dan. köre.
Carl, sb. a man, an old man, very
frequently with an idea of disrespect. C.S., 144. O. N. karl,
Norse kar, a man, fellow, but kall, an old man, with
assimilation of rl to ll. W. Norse kadl
exhibits the change of ll to dl. In Dan. and in Sw. dial
karl. Cu. carl means a coarse fellow. Dunbar has the word
wifcarl, man.
Carlage, adj. oldish, decrepit.
Irving, 172. O. N. karl + leikr.
Carling, karling, carline, sb. an
old woman, a slatternly woman. O. N. kerling, an old woman,
karlinna, a woman. O. Dan. kærlingh, O. Sw.
kärling, Norse kjæring, Dan. kiærling (pronounced
kælling), id. Dan. dial. kerling. Cp. Gael.
cailliach. Does not seem to exist in Eng. diall. south of the border.
Carp, karp, vb. to talk, converse.
Wyntoun, VI, 18, 313. O. N. karpa. See Skeat Et.D.
Castings, sb. pl. cast off clothes.
Dunbar's Complaynt, 43. Deriv. from cast. O. N. kasta.
Chaft, sb. the jaw, also used
vulgarly for the mouth. O. N. kjaptr, the jaw. Norse
kjæft, vulgar name for the mouth. O. Sw. kiäpter,
M. Sw. käft, Dan. kjæft, M. E. chaft.
Chaft-blade, chaff-blade, sb.
jaw. Mansie Wauch, 41, 20; 76, 23; 147, 28. Cp. Norse kjæfte-blad,
id. See chaft.
Chowk, sb. jawbone. Dalr., VIII,
112, 14; Isaiah, L, 6. O. N. kjálki, the jawbone, Norse
kjāke.
Chyngiel, sb. gravel. Douglas,
III, 302, 30. Norse singl, see Skeat, and Wall.
Cled, pp. clad, clothed. Wallace,
I, 382. O. N. klæddr, dressed, from klæða. O. E.
clæðan, from which N. Eng. clothe, was borrowed from the
Scand. in late O. E. See Kluge P. G.2 I., 932
Clag, sb. a stain, a flaw. Dalr.,
VIII, 97, 17. The vowel in O. N. kleggi does not correspond.
It is rather Dan. klag, see claggit.
Claggit,
adj. clagged, literally adhering, sticking, vb. clag, to
stick. Lindsay, LXXXVII, 2667. Dan. klæg, mud, sticky clay, as
adj. sticky, cp. Cu. claggy, adhesive, clog, to stick to,
O. E. clæg, from which N. Eng. clay. Possibly from an
unpalatalized O. Nhb. clæg.
Cleading, sb. dress, clothing,
A.P.B. 110 cp. Norse klædning, Sco. formation, same as clothing
in Eng. The Sco. vb. is cleed.
Cleckin, sb. brood of chickens.
Burns, 99, 4. Cp. O. N. klekking, chicken, but probably Sco.
formation from cleck, to hatch, q.v.
Cleg, sb. the gadfly, horsefly.
Burns, 88, I. O. N. kleggi, horsefly, Dan. kleg.
See Wall.
Clek, vb. to hatch. Dunbar, 105;
Douglas, II, 198, 3. O. N. klekja, O. Sw.
kläkkia, Norse klökkja, klöttja, Dan.
klække, Sw. kläcka, id.
Cloff, sb. fork, fissure.
Montg. F., 60. O. N. klof, bifurcation, O. Dan.
klov, a rift in a tree, O. Sw. klovi, id. Norse
klov, a cleft opening. Cp. Sco. long-cloved and Ic.
klof-langr.
Clour, vb. to beat, strike;
always used with reference to personal encounters. O. N.
klóra, to scratch, Norse klōra id., klōr
sb. used with reference to the scratch one gets as the result of a blow.
In Sco. clour may also mean the blow itself.
Clour, clowre, sb. a scratch or
swelling after a blow. Fergusson, 120; Philotus, 153; Douglas, I, 6, 4.
O. N. klór, a scratching. Norse klōr. Probably
Sco. formation.
Clubbit, adj. clubfooted, clumsy.
Montg. S., XXVIII; M.P., 13, 30. O. N. klubba and
klumba, Norse klubba, Dan., Norse klump. Cp. Eng.
clump. Söderwall gives klubba, klobba, probably M. Sw.
Cp. N.Dan. klubbe. Exhibits assimilation of mb to bb
which is general in W. Scand. Also appears to some extent later in
E.Scand. Eng. club is Scand. See Skeat.
Clunk, vb. to emit a hollow and
uninterrupted sound. Jamieson, Ayr. O. N. klunka, Norse
klunka, to emit a gurgling sound. O. Sw. klunka,
Eng. clink shows umlaut.
Clyfft, sb. a cleft, a fissure.
Wallace, VII, 859. Norse klyft, kluft, Ic. kluft,
Sw. klyfta, Dan. kloft. See also Skeat under cleft,
and B.S. cluft. The Sco. word like the M. E. exhibits the
umlaut which has taken place in some places in Norway and Sweden.
Cog, kog, coggie, sb.
a keg, a wooden vessel of any kind. Ferguson, 13; Burns, 195, 51, 2;
195, 50, 6. O. N. kaggi, Norse kagge, Dan. Sw.
kagge, a cask, a barrel. Skeat cites the form cag for Eng.
diall. The Sco. word preserves more closely the Norse sound, which is
not o, but a. On L. G. cognates see Skeat Et.D.
Costlyk, adj. costly, magnificent.
Wyntoun, VIII, 28, 76; IX, 18, 66, costlike. O. N. kostligr,
costly, choice, desirable. O. Sw. kosteliker, O. Dan.
kostælic, N. Dan. kostelig, Norse kosteleg, costly,
magnificent. Deriv. costlykly. Wyntoun, VII, 5, 96.
Cour, vb. to bow, to croutch.
O. N. kúra, O. Dan. kuræ, O. Sw. kura,
Norse kura, kurra, bend down, become quiet, go to rest.
Norse kurr, adj. silent, kurrende still, perfectly quiet,
cowered to silence. The fundamental idea in the O. N. word was
probably that of "lying quiet." Cp. Shetland to cur, to sit down.
Isaiah, LVIII, 5: "His head till cower like a seggan flouir."
Cow, vb. to overcome, surpass,
"beat." O. N. kúga, to compel to something, to tyrannize over.
Dan kue, underkue, suppress, oppress, Norse kua,
press down, also put into subjection. The more general meaning in the
modern diall. is "to beat." "To cow a'," in Barrie, to beat everything;
cow'd, Fergusson 117, terrified.
Craik, sb. crow. Burns, 226, 119, 3,
and 121, 1. O. N. kráka, Norse kraake, krauka,
Dan. krage, Shetland kraga, crow. See also Wall.
Crave, vb. to demand payment of a
debt, to dun. A regular Sco. use of the word. O. E. crafian
is a loanword from Scand. See Kluge P. G.2 I, 933.
Cp. Norse kreva, to dun.
Crove, sb. hut, cottage. Ramsay,
I, 158. O. N. kró, a hut, a little cottage (Haldorson),
Norse, kro, specialized to "wine or ale house." So in Dan.
Cunnand, adj. knowing, skilful,
dexterous. Wyntoun, VII, 3, 28; connand, V, 12, 1243; Douglas,
II, 18, 22. O. N. kunnandi, knowing, learned, Norse
kunnande, skilled. Deriv. cunnandly, conandly
(Wallace, I, 248).
Cunnandness, sb. skill, knowledge,
wisdom. Wyntoun, V, 12, 280; VII, 8, 667. Sb. formation from cunnand.
Daggit,
adj. pp. soaked. Montg. S., 68, 11. O. N. döggva, to
bedew, döggottr, covered with dew, Norse dogga, id.,
Sw. dagg, thin, drizzling rain, O. Sw. dag, dew,
Shetland dag, dew, "he's dagen," it is misting. Cp. Cu.
daggy, misty.
Dapill, adj. gray. Douglas,
II, 257, 19; Scott 72, 126, "till hair and berd grow dapill."
O. N. depill. See Skeat.
Dapplet, adj. spotted, flecked.
Burns, VII, 11. See dapple in Skeat Et.D.
Dash, vb. to strike. Burns, 210,
872, 8, 7. O. N. daska, to strike, sb. dask,
a strike, Norse daska, Dan., Sw. daska, M. E.
daschen. See Bradley's Stratmann.
De, dee, vb. to die, M. E.
deyen. Undoubtedly a Scand. loan-word. Luik (91-93), agreeing
with Napier, thinks the word is native from primitive Gmc.
*daujan. I think, however, with Kluge, that if the word had
existed in O. E. it would have appeared earlier. See Kluge
P. G.2 I, 933. O. N. döyja, Norse
döi, O. Dan. döia, Dan, dö. On M. E.
deyen see Brate.
Degraithit, pp. deprived of.
Lyndsay, 523, 3935. Formed from the sb. graith, possessions,
hence degraith, to dispossess. Cp. the Eng. parallel. See
graith.
Dey, dee, sb. maid, woman. A.P.B.,
151; Ramsay 399. O. N. dæigja, a dairy maid, Norse
deigja, servant, budeie, dairy maid, O. Sw.
deghia, deijha, maid, girl, sweetheart, O. Dan.
deije, mistress, deijepige, servant. The Sco. word has
nearly always the general sense of "woman."
Ding, vb. to drive, strike, beat,
overcome. O. N. dengja, to hammer, Norse dengja,
denge, to whip, beat, O. Sw. dängia id., Sw.
dänge, O. Dan. dænge, M. E. dingen.
A very common word in Sco., used quite generally as Eng. "beat," in
the sense of "surpassing." "To ding a'" = to beat everything. Cp.
"to cow a'."
Dirdum, sb. tumult, uproar.
Douglas, I, 117, 9. O. N. dýra-dómr, "doordoom, an
ancient tribunal held at the door of the house of the suspected person,
which often was followed by uproar and bloodshed" (Small). The word
appears in Gael. as durdan.