| A. Bor. | Anglia Borealis, North of England. |
| Adj. | Adjective. |
| Adv. | Adverb. |
| Alem. | Alemannic language. |
| Ang. | Angus, county of. |
| Arm. | Armorican, or language of Bretagne. |
| A. S. | Anglo-Saxon language. |
| Belg. | Belgic language. |
| C.B. | Cambro-Britannic, or Welsh language. |
| Celt. | Celtic. |
| Clydes. | Clydesdale. |
| Conj. | Conjunction. |
| Contr. | Contracted, or Contraction. |
| Corn. | Cornish, or language of Cornwall. |
| Corr. | Corrupted, or corruption. |
| Dan. | Danish language. |
| Dimin. | Diminutive. |
| Dumfr. | Dumfriesshire. |
| E. | English language. |
| Fr. | French language. |
| Franc. | Frankish, Theotisc, or Tudesque language. |
| Fris. | Frisian dialect of the Belgic. |
| Gael. | Gaelic of the Highlands of Scotland. |
| Germ. | German language. |
| Gl. Gloss. | Glossary. |
| Gl. Sibb. | Glossary by Mr James Sibbald. |
| Gr. | Greek language. |
| Heb. | Hebrew language. |
| Hisp. | Spanish language. |
| Ibid. | In the same place. |
| Id. | Having the same signification; also, the same writer. |
| Imper. | Imperative. |
| Ir. | Irish language. |
| Isl. | Islandic (or Icelandic) language. |
| Ital. | Italian language. |
| Lat. | Latin language. |
| L. B. | Barbarous Latin. |
| Loth. | Lothian. |
| Metaph. | Metaphor, Metaphorical. |
| Moes. G. | Moeso-Gothic, as preserved in Ulphilas's Version of the Gospels. |
| Mod. | Modern. |
| MS. | Manuscript. |
| N. | Note. |
| O. | Old. |
| Orkn. | Orkney. |
| Part. pr. | Participle present. |
| —— pa. | —— past. |
| Pers. | Persian language. |
| Perh. | Perhaps. |
| Pl. | Plural. |
| Prep. | Preposition. |
| Pret. | Preterite. |
| Pron. | Pronoun; also, Pronounce, pronunciation. |
| Prov. | Proverb. |
| Q. or q. | Quasi. |
| q. v. | Quod vide. |
| S. | Scottish, Scotland. |
| S. | Denotes that a word is still used in Scotland. |
| S. A. | Scotia Australis, south of Scotland. |
| S. B. | Scotia Borealis, North of Scotland; also Northern Scots. |
| Shetl. | Shetland. |
| Shirr. | Shirrefs. |
| S. O. | Scotia Occidentalis, West of Scotland. |
| s. | Substantive. |
| Su. G. | Suio-Gothic, or ancient language of Sweden. |
| Sw. | Swedish language, (modern.) |
| Term. | Termination. |
| Teut. | Teutonic. |
| Tweedd. | Tweeddale. |
| V. | Vide, see. |
| v. | Verb. |
| vo. | Voce. |
[Rules for rendering the use of this Dictionary more easy.]
Y vowel, used by our ancient writers promiscuously with i, being in fact only double i, and printed ij in other northern languages, is to be sought for, not as it stands in the English alphabet, but in the same place with the letter i, throughout the work.
Words not found in SH, to be sought for under SCH.
Those, in like manner, not found in WH, to be sought for under QUH, expressing the sound of the old Gothic guttural.
Words, improperly printed in our old books with Z, to be looked for under Y consonant.