An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language / in which the words are explained in their different senses, authorized by the names of the writers by whom they are used, or the titles of the works in which they occur, and deduced from their originals

by John Jamieson

Fr. vire, the arrow called a quarrell; Isl. aur, telum, sagitta.

To WYR, v. a. To wreathe, to let down by a whirling motion.
Barbour.

Mod. Sax. wyr-en, Fr. vir-er, Lat. gyr-are.

To WIRK, WYRK, v. a.
1. To work, to cause to accomplish.
Douglas.
2. To make, to form.
Dunbar.

A. S. wirc-an, wyrc-an, facere.

Wirk, Werk, s. Work.
Wallace.

WYROCK, s. A sort of hard excrescence.
V. [Virrok].

WIRRY-COW, s.
1. A bugbear, a scarecrow, S.
Ramsay.
2. The devil, S.
Ramsay.

From wirry, to worry, and [Cow], q. v.

WIRRY-HEN, s. Perhaps, one who swallows up the property of others, as a hen gobbles up what is thrown out.
Bannatyne P.