B.
- Ba’, ball.
- Babie-clouts, child’s first clothes.
- Backets, ash-boards, as pieces of backet for removing ashes.
- Backlins, comin’, coming back, returning.
- Back-yett, private gate.
- Baide, endured, did stay.
- Baggie, the belly.
- Bairn, a child.
- Bairn-time, a family of children, a brood.
- Baith, both.
- Ballets, Ballants, ballads.
- Ban, to swear.
- Bane, bone.
- Bang, to beat, to strive, to excel.
- Bannock, flat, round, soft cake.
- Bardie, diminutive of bard.
- Barefit, barefooted.
- Barley-bree, barley-broo, blood of barley, malt liquor.
- Barmie, of, or like barm, yeasty.
- Batch, a crew, a gang.
- Batts, botts.
- Bauckie-bird, the bat.
- Baudrons, a cat.
- Bauld, bold.
- Baws’nt, having a white stripe down the face.
- Be, to let be, to give over, to cease.
- Beets, boots.
- Bear, barley.
- Bearded-bear, barley with its bristly head.
- Beastie, diminutive of beast.
- Beet, beek, to add fuel to a fire, to bask.
- Beld, bald.
- Belyve, by and by, presently, quickly.
- Ben, into the spence or parlour.
- Benmost-bore, the remotest hole, the innermost recess.
- Bethankit, grace after meat.
- Beuk, a book.
- Bicker, a kind of wooden dish, a short rapid race.
- Bickering, careering, hurrying with quarrelsome intent.
- Birnie, birnie ground is where thick heath has been burnt, leaving the birns, or unconsumed stalks, standing up sharp and stubley.
- Bie, or bield, shelter, a sheltered place, the sunny nook of a wood.
- Bien, wealthy, plentiful.
- Big, to build.
- Biggin, building, a house.
- Biggit, built.
- Bill, a bull.
- Billie, a brother, a young fellow, a companion.
- Bing, a heap of grain, potatoes, &c.
- Birdie-cocks, young cocks, still belonging to the brood.
- Birk, birch.
- Birkie, a clever, a forward conceited fellow.
- Birring, the noise of partridges when they rise.
- Birses, bristles.
- Bit, crisis, nick of time, place.
- Bizz, a bustle, to buzz.
- Black’s the grun’, as black as the ground.
- Blastie, a shrivelled dwarf, a term of contempt, full of mischief.
- Blastit, blasted.
- Blate, bashful, sheepish.
- Blather, bladder.
- Blaud, a flat piece of anything, to slap.
- Blaudin-shower, a heavy driving rain; a blauding signifies a beating.
- Blaw, to blow, to boast; “blaw i’ my lug,” to flatter.
- Bleerit, bedimmed, eyes hurt with weeping.
- Bleer my een, dim my eyes.
- Bleezing, bleeze, blazing, flame.
- Blellum, idle talking fellow.
- Blether, to talk idly.
- Bleth’rin, talking idly.
- Blink, a little while, a smiling look, to look kindly, to shine by fits.
- Blinker, a term of contempt: it means, too, a lively engaging girl.
- Blinkin’, smirking, smiling with the eyes, looking lovingly.
- Blirt and blearie, out-burst of grief, with wet eyes.
- Blue-gown, one of those beggars who get annually, on the king’s birth-day, a blue cloak or gown with a badge.
- Bluid, blood.
- Blype, a shred, a large piece.
- Bobbit, the obeisance made by a lady.
- Bock, to vomit, to gush intermittently.
- Bocked, gushed, vomited.
- Bodle, a copper coin of the value of two pennies Scots.
- Bogie, a small morass.
- Bonnie, or bonny, handsome, beautiful.
- Bonnock, a kind of thick cake of bread, a small jannock or loaf made of oatmeal. See Bannock.
- Boord, a board.
- Bore, a hole in the wall, a cranny.
- Boortree, the shrub elder, planted much of old in hedges of barn-yards and gardens.
- Boost, behoved, must needs, wilfulness.
- Botch, blotch, an angry tumour.
- Bousing, drinking, making merry with liquor.
- Bowk, body.
- Bow-kail, cabbage.
- Bow-hought, out-kneed, crooked at the knee joint.
- Bowt, bowlt, bended, crooked.
- Brackens, fern.
- Brae, a declivity, a precipice, the slope of a hill.
- Braid, broad.
- Braik, an instrument for rough-dressing flax.
- Brainge, to run rashly forward, to churn violently.
- Braing’t, “the horse braing’t,” plunged end fretted in the harness.
- Brak, broke, became insolvent.
- Branks, a kind of wooden curb for horses.
- Brankie, gaudy.
- Brash, a sudden illness.
- Brats, coarse clothes, rags, &c.
- Brattle, a short race, hurry, fury.
- Braw, fine, handsome.
- Brawlys, or brawlie, very well, finely, heartily, bravely.
- Braxies, diseased sheep.
- Breastie, diminutive of breast.
- Breastit, did spring up or forward; the act of mounting a horse.
- Brechame, a horse-collar.
- Breckens, fern.
- Breef, an invulnerable or irresistible spell.
- Breeks, breeches.
- Brent, bright, clear; “a brent brow,” a brow high and smooth.
- Brewin’, brewing, gathering.
- Bree, juice, liquid.
- Brig, a bridge.
- Brunstane, brimstone.
- Brisket, the breast, the bosom.
- Brither, a brother.
- Brock, a badger.
- Brogue, a hum, a trick.
- Broo, broth, liquid, water.
- Broose, broth, a race at country weddings; he who first reaches the bridegroom’s house on returning from church wins the broose.
- Browst, ale, as much malt liquor as is brewed at a time.
- Brugh, a burgh.
- Bruilsie, a broil, combustion.
- Brunt, did burn, burnt.
- Brust, to burst, burst.
- Buchan-bullers, the boiling of the sea among the rocks on the coast of Buchan.
- Buckskin, an inhabitant of Virginia.
- Buff our beef, thrash us soundly, give us a beating behind and before.
- Buff and blue, the colours of the Whigs.
- Buirdly, stout made, broad built.
- Bum-clock, the humming beetle that flies in the summer evenings.
- Bummin, humming as bees, buzzing.
- Bummle, to blunder, a drone, an idle fellow.
- Bummler, a blunderer, one whose noise is greater than his work.
- Bunker, a window-seat.
- Bure, did bear.
- Burn, burnie, water, a rivulet, a small stream which is heard as it runs.
- Burniewin’, burn this wind, the blacksmith.
- Burr-thistle, the thistle of Scotland.
- Buskit, dressed.
- Buskit-nest, an ornamented residence.
- Busle, a bustle.
- But, bot, without.
- But and ben, the country kitchen and parlour.
- By himself, lunatic, distracted, beside himself.
- Byke, a bee-hive, a wild bee-nest.
- Byre, a cow-house, a sheep-pen.
C.
- Ca’, to call, to name, to drive.
- Ca’t, called, driven, calved.
- Cadger, a carrier.
- Cadie or caddie, a person, a young fellow, a public messenger.
- Caff, chaff.
- Caird, a tinker, a maker of horn spoons and teller of fortunes.
- Cairn, a loose heap of stones, a rustic monument.
- Calf-ward, a small enclosure for calves.
- Calimanco, a certain kind of cotton cloth worn by ladies.
- Callan, a boy.
- Caller, fresh.
- Callet, a loose woman, a follower of a camp.
- Cannie, gentle, mild, dexterous.
- Cannilie, dexterously, gently.
- Cantie, or canty, cheerful, merry.
- Cantraip, a charm, a spell.
- Cap-stane, cape-stone, topmost stone of the building.
- Car, a rustic cart with or without wheels.
- Careerin’, moving cheerfully.
- Castock, the stalk of a cabbage.
- Carl, an old man.
- Carl-hemp, the male stalk of hemp, easily known by its superior strength and stature, and being without seed.
- Carlin, a stout old woman.
- Cartes, cards.
- Caudron, a cauldron.
- Cauk and keel, chalk and red clay.
- Cauld, cold.
- Caup, a wooden drinking vessel, a cup.
- Cavie, a hen-coop.
- Chanter, drone of a bagpipe.
- Chap, a person, a fellow.
- Chaup, a stroke, a blow.
- Cheek for chow, close and united, brotherly, side by side.
- Cheekit, cheeked.
- Cheep, a chirp, to chirp.
- Chiel, or cheal, a young fellow.
- Chimla, or chimlie, a fire-grate, fire-place.
- Chimla-lug, the fire-side.
- Chirps, cries of a young bird.
- Chittering, shivering, trembling.
- Chockin, choking.
- Chow, to chew; a quid of tobacco.
- Chuckie, a brood-hen.
- Chuffie, fat-faced.
- Clachan, a small village about a church, a hamlet.
- Claise, or claes, clothes.
- Claith, cloth.
- Claithing, clothing.
- Clavers and havers, agreeable nonsense, to talk foolishly.
- Clapper-claps, the clapper of a mill; it is now silenced.
- Clap-clack, clapper of a mill.
- Clartie, dirty, filthy.
- Clarkit, wrote.
- Clash, an idle tale.
- Clatter, to tell little idle stories, an idle story.
- Claught, snatched at, laid hold of.
- Claut, to clean, to scrape.
- Clauted, scraped.
- Claw, to scratch.
- Cleed, to clothe.
- Cleek, hook, snatch.
- Cleekin, a brood of chickens, or ducks.
- Clegs, the gad flies.
- Clinkin, “clinking down,” sitting down hastily.
- Clinkumbell, the church bell; he who rings it; a sort of beadle.
- Clips, wool-shears.
- Clishmaclaver, idle conversation.
- Clock, to hatch, a beetle.
- Clockin, hatching.
- Cloot, the hoof of a cow, sheep, &c.
- Clootie, a familiar name for the devil.
- Clour, a bump, or swelling, after a blow.
- Cloutin, repairing with cloth.
- Cluds, clouds.
- Clunk, the sound in setting down an empty bottle.
- Coaxin, wheedling.
- Coble, a fishing-boat.
- Cod, a pillow.
- Coft, bought.
- Cog, and coggie, a wooden dish.
- Coila, from Kyle, a district in Ayrshire, so called, saith tradition, from Coil, or Coilus, a Pictish monarch.
- Collie, a general, and sometimes a particular name for country curs.
- Collie-shangie, a quarrel among dogs, an Irish row.
- Commaun, command.
- Convoyed, accompanied lovingly.
- Cool’d in her linens, cool’d in her death-shift.
- Cood, the cud.
- Coof, a blockhead, a ninny.
- Cookit, appeared and disappeared by fits.
- Cooser, a stallion.
- Coost, did cast.
- Coot, the ankle, a species of water-fowl.
- Corbies, blood crows.
- Cootie, a wooden dish, rough-legged.
- Core, corps, party, clan.
- Corn’t, fed with oats.
- Cotter, the inhabitant of a cot-house, or cottage.
- Couthie, kind, loving.
- Cove, a cave.
- Cowe, to terrify, to keep under, to lop.
- Cowp, to barter, to tumble over.
- Cowp the cran, to tumble a full bucket or basket.
- Cowpit, tumbled.
- Cowrin, cowering.
- Cowte, a colt.
- Cosie, snug.
- Crabbit, crabbed, fretful.
- Creuks, a disease of horses.
- Crack, conversation, to converse, to boast.
- Crackin’, cracked, conversing, conversed.
- Craft, or croft, a field near a house, in old husbandry.
- Craig, craigie, neck.
- Craiks, cries or calls incessantly, a bird, the corn-rail.
- Crambo-clink, or crambo-jingle, rhymes, doggerel verses.
- Crank, the noise of an ungreased wheel—metaphorically inharmonious verse.
- Crankous, fretful, captious.
- Cranreuch, the hoar-frost, called in Nithsdale “frost-rhyme.”
- Crap, a crop, to crop.
- Craw, a crow of a cock, a rook.
- Creel, a basket, to have one’s wits in a creel, to be crazed, to be fascinated.
- Creshie, greasy.
- Crood, or Croud, to coo as a dove.
- Croon, a hollow and continued moan; to make a noise like the low roar of a bull; to hum a tune.
- Crooning, humming.
- Crouchie, crook-backed.
- Crouse, cheerful, courageous.
- Crously, cheerfully, courageously.
- Crowdie, a composition of oatmeal, boiled water and butter; sometimes made from the broth of beef, mutton, &c. &c.
- Crowdie time, breakfast time.
- Crowlin, crawling, a deformed creeping thing.
- Crummie’s nicks, marks on the horns of a cow.
- Crummock, Crummet, a cow with crooked horns.
- Crummock driddle, walk slowly, leaning on a staff with a crooked head.
- Crump-crumpin, hard and brittle, spoken of bread; frozen snow yielding to the foot.
- Crunt, a blow on the head with a cudgel.
- Cuddle, to clasp and caress.
- Cummock, a short staff, with a crooked head.
- Curch, a covering for the head, a kerchief.
- Curchie, a curtesy, female obeisance.
- Curler, a player at a game on the ice, practised in Scotland, called curling.
- Curlie, curled, whose hair falls naturally in ringlets.
- Curling, a well-known game on the ice.
- Curmurring, murmuring, a slight rumbling noise.
- Curpin, the crupper, the rump.
- Curple, the rear.
- Cushat, the dove, or wood-pigeon.
- Cutty, short, a spoon broken in the middle.
- Cutty Stool, or, Creepie Chair, the seat of shame, stool of repentance.
D.
- Daddie, a father.
- Daffin, merriment, foolishness.
- Daft, merry, giddy, foolish; Daft-buckie, mad fish.
- Daimen, rare, now and then; Daimen icker, an ear of corn occasionally.
- Dainty, pleasant, good-humored, agreeable, rare.
- Dandered, wandered.
- Darklins, darkling, without light.
- Daud, to thrash, to abuse; Daudin-showers, rain urged by wind.
- Daur, to dare; Daurt, dared.
- Daurg, or Daurk, a day’s labour.
- Daur, daurna, dare, dare not.
- Davoc, diminutive of Davie, as Davie is of David.
- Dawd, a large piece.
- Dawin, dawning of the day.
- Dawtit, dawtet, fondled, caressed.
- Dearies, diminutive of dears, sweethearts.
- Dearthfu’, dear, expensive.
- Deave, to deafen.
- Deil-ma-care, no matter for all that.
- Deleerit, delirious.
- Descrive, to describe, to perceive.
- Deuks, ducks.
- Dight, to wipe, to clean corn from chaff.
- Ding, to worst, to push, to surpass, to excel.
- Dink, neat, lady-like.
- Dinna, do not.
- Dirl, a slight tremulous stroke or pain, a tremulous motion.
- Distain, stain.
- Dizzen, a dozen.
- Dochter, daughter.
- Doited, stupefied, silly from age.
- Dolt, stupefied, crazed; also a fool.
- Donsie, unlucky, affectedly neat and trim, pettish.
- Doodle, to dandle.
- Dool, sorrow, to lament, to mourn.
- Doos, doves, pigeons.
- Dorty, saucy, nice.
- Douse, or douce, sober, wise, prudent.
- Doucely, soberly, prudently.
- Dought, was or were able.
- Doup, backside.
- Doup-skelper, one that strikes the tail.
- Dour and din, sullen and sallow
- Douser, more prudent.
- Dow, am or are able, can.
- Dowff, pithless, wanting force.
- Dowie, worn with grief, fatigue, &c., half asleep.
- Downa, am or are not able, cannot.
- Doylt, wearied, exhausted.
- Dozen, stupified, the effects of age, to dozen, to benumb.
- Drab, a young female beggar; to spot, to stain.
- Drap, a drop, to drop.
- Drapping, dropping.
- Draunting, drawling, speaking with a sectarian tone.
- Dreep, to ooze, to drop.
- Dreigh, tedious, long about it, lingering.
- Dribble, drizzling, trickling.
- Driddle, the motion of one who tries to dance but moves the middle only.
- Drift, a drove, a flight of fowls, snow moved by the wind.
- Droddum, the breech.
- Drone, part of a bagpipe, the chanter.
- Droop rumpl’t, that droops at the crupper.
- Droukit, wet.
- Drouth, thirst, drought.
- Drucken, drunken.
- Drumly, muddy.
- Drummock or Drammock, meal and water mixed, raw.
- Drunt, pet, sour humour.
- Dub, a small pond, a hollow filled with rain water.
- Duds, rags, clothes.
- Duddie, ragged.
- Dung-dang, worsted, pushed, stricken.
- Dunted, throbbed, beaten.
- Dush-dunsh, to push, or butt as a ram.
- Dusht, overcome with superstitious fear, to drop down suddenly.
- Dyvor, bankrupt, or about to become one.
E.
- E’e, the eye.
- Een, the eyes, the evening.
- Eebree, the eyebrow.
- Eenin’, the evening.
- Eerie, frighted, haunted, dreading spirits.
- Eild, old age.
- Elbuck, the elbow.
- Eldritch, ghastly, frightful, elvish.
- En’, end.
- Enbrugh, Edinburgh.
- Eneugh, and aneuch, enough.
- Especial, especially.
- Ether-stone, stone formed by adders, an adder bead.
- Ettle, to try, attempt, aim.
- Eydent, diligent.
F.
- Fa’, fall, lot, to fall, fate.
- Fa’ that, to enjoy, to try, to inherit.
- Faddom’t, fathomed, measured with the extended arms.
- Faes, foes.
- Faem, foam of the sea.
- Faiket, forgiven or excused, abated, a demand.
- Fainness, gladness, overcome with joy.
- Fairin’, fairing, a present brought from a fair.
- Fallow, fellow.
- Fand, did find.
- Farl, a cake of bread; third part of a cake.
- Fash, trouble, care, to trouble, to care for.
- Fasheous, troublesome.
- Fasht, troubled.
- Fasten e’en, Fasten’s even.
- Faught, fight.
- Faugh, a single furrow, out of lea, fallow.
- Fauld, and Fald, a fold for sheep, to fold.
- Faut, fault.
- Fawsont, decent, seemly.
- Feal, loyal, steadfast.
- Fearfu’, fearful, frightful.
- Fear’t, affrighted.
- Feat, neat, spruce, clever.
- Fecht, to fight.
- Fechtin’, fighting.
- Feck and fek, number, quantity.
- Fecket, an under-waistcoat.
- Feckfu’, large, brawny, stout.
- Feckless, puny, weak, silly.
- Feckly, mostly.
- Feg, a fig.
- Fegs, faith, an exclamation.
- Feide, feud, enmity.
- Fell, keen, biting; the flesh immediately under the skin; level moor.
- Felly, relentless.
- Fend, Fen, to make a shift, contrive to live.
- Ferlie or ferley, to wonder, a wonder, a term of contempt.
- Fetch, to pull by fits.
- Fetch’t, pull’d intermittently.
- Fey, strange; one marked for death, predestined.
- Fidge, to fidget, fidgeting.
- Fidgin-fain, tickled with pleasure.
- Fient, fiend, a petty oath.
- Fien ma care, the devil may care.
- Fier, sound, healthy; a brother, a friend.
- Fierrie, bustle, activity.
- Fissle, to make a rustling noise, to fidget, bustle, fuss.
- Fit, foot.
- Fittie-lan, the nearer horse of the hindmost pair in the plough.
- Fizz, to make a hissing noise, fuss, disturbance.
- Flaffen, the motion of rags in the wind; of wings.
- Flainen, flannel.
- Flandrekins, foreign generals, soldiers of Flanders.
- Flang, threw with violence.
- Fleech, to supplicate in a flattering manner.
- Fleechin, supplicating.
- Fleesh, a fleece.
- Fleg, a kick, a random blow, a fight.
- Flether, to decoy by fair words.
- Flethrin, flethers, flattering—smooth wheedling words.
- Fley, to scare, to frighten.
- Flichter, flichtering, to flutter as young nestlings do when their dam approaches.
- Flinders, shreds, broken pieces.
- Flingin-tree, a piece of timber hung by way of partition between two horses in a stable; a flail.
- Flisk, flisky, to fret at the yoke.
- Flisket, fretted.
- Flitter, to vibrate like the wings of small birds.
- Flittering, fluttering, vibrating, moving tremulously from place to place.
- Flunkie, a servant in livery.
- Flyte, flyting, scold: flyting, scolding.
- Foor, hastened.
- Foord, a ford.
- Forbears, forefathers.
- Forbye, besides.
- Forfairn, distressed, worn out, jaded, forlorn, destitute.
- Forgather, to meet, to encounter with.
- Forgie, to forgive.
- Forinawed, worn out.
- Forjesket, jaded with fatigue.
- Fou’, full, drunk.
- Foughten, forfoughten, troubled, fatigued.
- Foul-thief, the devil, the arch-fiend.
- Fouth, plenty, enough, or more than enough.
- Fow, a measure, a bushel: also a pitchfork.
- Frae, from.
- Freath, froth, the frothing of ale in the tankard.
- Frien’, friend.
- Frosty-calker, the heels and front of a horse-shoe, turned sharply up for riding on an icy road.
- Fu’, full.
- Fud, the scut or tail of the hare, coney, &c.
- Fuff, to blow intermittently.
- Fu-hant, full-handed; said of one well to live in the world.
- Funnie, full of merriment.
- Fur-ahin, the hindmost horse on the right hand when ploughing.
- Furder, further, succeed.
- Furm, a form, a bench.
- Fusionless, spiritless, without sap or soul.
- Fyke, trifling cares, to be in a fuss about trifles.
- Fyte, to soil, to dirty.
- Fylt, soiled, dirtied.