Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch / A contribution to the study of the linguistic relations of English and Scandinavian

by George T. Flom

Dowless, adj. careless, worthless. Isaiah, 32, 11. O. N. duglauss, Norse duglaus, good for nothing, said of a person who has lost all courage or strength, as opposed to duglegr, capable. Norse dugløysa, weakness, inability. Cp. Dan. due, to be able. Germ. taugen.

Draik, vb. to drown, drench. Lyndsay, 247, 714; draikit, Isaiah, I, 22. Apparently from O. N. drekkja, to drown, to swamp. The vowel is difficult to explain. The Cu. form drakt, drenched, wet, indicates a verb, drak. The change in vowel would then be similar to that in dwall from O. N. dvelja, Eng. dwell. Uncertain.

Dram, sb. a drink. Fergusson, 40; Mansie Wauch, 9, 9; 90, 2. Norse dram, a drink, always used with reference to a strong drink, so in Sco. Dan. dram, as much of a strong drink as is taken at one time (Molbeck). O. Sw. dramb, drinking in general, carousing. This usage of dram is distinctively Scand. and Sco. Cp. Eng. dram, Sco. vb. dram, to furnish with drinks.

Drawkit, adj. drenched. Dunbar 142, 102; Douglas, I, 56, 12; III, 303, 8. See draik. The vowel is difficult to explain. Absence of n before the k proves that it is either a Scand. loanword direct, or a Sco. formation from one. There is no Scand. word from which drawkit could come. It may be a Sco. formation from draik. For change of ai to aw cp. agent and awgent; various and vawrious, in Aberdeen dial. The M. Dan. drockne, N. Norse drokna, would hardly account for aw in drawkit.

Drook, to drench, to drown. Isaiah, XVI, 9; LV, 10; Psalms, VI, 6. Cannot come from O. N. drekkja. Probably from O. N. drukna, to drown, Norse drukna, O. Dan. dronkne, by lengthening of the vowel. Cp. Cu. drookt, severely wet. The following infinitive forms also occur, draik, drowk, drawk.

Droukit, adj. drenched. Fergusson, 40. See drook.

Drucken, druken, adj. drunken, addicted to drink. O. N., Norse drukken, pp. of drikka, to drink. Early E. Scand. has the unassimilated form. Cp. O. Dan. dronkne, drone. Later Dan. drougne, drocken. Early Sw. drokken.

Duddy, adj. ragged. Fergusson, 146; Burns, 68, 48. See duds. Cp. Cu. duddy fuddiel, a ragged fellow.

Duds, sb. pl. rags, clothes, O. N. dudi, "vestes plumatae" (Haldorson), duda (duða), to wrap up heavily, to swaddle. Gael. dud, rag, is a loan-word from O. N. It is possible that the word may have come into Lowland Sco. by way of Gael.