aft often
agley wrong
aiblins perhaps
aidle ditch water
airn iron
airt direction
aits oats
aizle ember
aqua-fontis spring water
aquavitae whisky
ase ashes
asklent askew
asteer abroad
auldfarran sagacious, shrewd
aumous alms
ava at all
awnie bearded
ayont past
bair clear
bairn child
bakes biscuits
barley-bree whisky
batts colic
bauk cross-beam; bauk-en’ end of a cross-beam
baws’nt brindled
bear barley
bear the gree come off best
benmost furthest in
bestead placed
bicker wooden drinking vessel
bicker stagger; rush
bide endure
bield shelter
bienly comfortably
big build
bill bull
billie fellow
birk birch
birkie lively fellow
bizz flurry
blastet cursed; blastie nasty creature
blate bashful
bleeze blaze
blellum blusterer
blether talk foolishly
blink look fondly
blinker spy, cheat
blype layer
boddle copper coin
boortree elder
bore crevice
botch tumour
bow-kail cabbage
branks halter, bridle
brash sudden illness
brats rags
brattle hurry
braw handsome; brawlie admirably
bree whisky
brock badger
brogue trick
brunstane brimstone
budget leather bag
buirdly stalwart
bum hum; bum-clock humming beetle
burn stream
burnewin blacksmith
butt and ben everywhere
byke hive; crowd
ca’d hammered
cadger travelling hawker
cadie rascal
caff chaff
caird tinker
calces powders
calf-ward churchyard
callet wench
callor fresh
cannie pleasant
cantie, canty cheerful, lively
cantraip magic
carlin witch; old fellow
cattle beasts
cavie coop
change-house ale-house
chap stroke
chapman pedlar
cheek-for-chow cheek by jowl
cheeks side-pieces
chiel fellow
chuck sweetheart
chuffie portly, fat faced
clachan village
clash gossip
clatter chatter, gossip
claw scratching
cleek link hands in a dance; steal; claught clutched
clew, clue ball of yarn
clink sit down smartly
cloot hoof; Cloots the devil
clout cloth; patch
coff buy
cog wooden drinking vessel
coof lout, fool
cook dart in and out of sight
coost looped
cootie tub
core band of dancers; party
cot cottage; cotter cottager, tenant farmer
cour fold
court-day rent-day
couthie loving
cowe scold, berate
cowp fell over
crack gossip, story
craigie throat
crank harsh sound
cranreuch hoar-frost
creeshie greasy, filthy
croose, crouse cocksure, merry
crouchie hump-backed
crowdie-time breakfast time
crummock short staff with a crooked head
crump baked dry
curmurring rumbling
curpan backside
custock kale-stalk
cutty short
daffin flirtation, fooling
dail plank
daimem-icker occasional ear of corn
damn’d haet damn all
daunton cast down
daut pet, make much of; dawtit spoiled
dawd hunk
deil-haet nothing; deil-mak matter no matter
delver gardener, labourer
dight wipe dry; winnow
ding overcome
dint occasion
dirk, durk short Highland dagger
dirl shake
dizzen work amounting to a day’s spinning
doited enfeebled; doytan blundering
donsie hapless
dorty haughty
douk duck
dow be able
doylt muddled
driddle dawdle
droddum backside
drouth thirst
drumlie cloudy; gloomy
drunt sulks
dub stagnant pool, puddle
dud (d) ies, duds clothes; duddie ragged
dung in beaten into
eldritch uncanny, frightful
Erse Gaelic
ettle purpose
fa’ befall
fain glad; fain o’ ither fond of each other
fairin deserts
faith ye confound ye
fash trouble; fash your thumb pay heed
fatt’rels ribbon ends
fawsont respectable
feat trim
feck most
fell powerful
Ferintosh a brand of whisky, exempted from duty in reparation for the damage done to the estates of Forbes of Culloden, the distillery’s owner, by the Jacobites in 1689. The loss of the exemption in 1785 drove up the price of whisky.
ferlie wonder
fidge shrug; fidge fu’ fain twitch with excitement
fient haet nothing
fiere companion
fit (t) foot
fley terrify
foggage rank grass, winter grazing
forbye besides
fou, fu’ drunk; very
foughten harassed, worn out
freak fancy
free clear
fud backside
fuff puff
funny merry
furr furrow
fyke commotion
gab mouth
gaets habits
gangrel tramp
gar make, cause
gash chat; neat; shrewd
gate way
gausy, gawsie fine; plump
gear possessions, property
gentles gentry
Geordie guinea
gilpey young girl
gimmer-pet yearling ewe kept as a pet
gin before
girdle griddle
gizz wig
glaikit foolish
gloaming twilight
glowr gaze intently
glunch scowl
gowan daisy
gowd gold
graip garden fork
graith ploughing gear; habit
greet cry
grozet gooseberry
grumphie sow
gruntle nose; grunt
grushie thriving
gude-willie-waught generous draught
gully large knife
gusty tasty
gutscraper fiddler
ha’ folk servants
haffet temple
hafflins-wise nearly
hairst harvest
hald refuge
han’-daurk manual labour
harn coarse linen
hash waster
haugh level, fertile land by a river
haurl drag; peel
havins good manners
hav’rel half-wit
hawkie cow with a white face
hecht promise
herd herd-boy
heugh pit
hilch limp
hirple limp; move unevenly
hizzie whore; silly girl
hoast cough
hoddan bumping up and down in the saddle
hoddin coarse grey homespun cloth
Hornie the devil
hotch jerk about
houghmagandie sex
houlet owl (et)
hove make swell
howck dig up
howdie midwife
howe hollow
hoy’t urged on
huff scold
hum take in
hurchin urchin
hurdies haunches
ilka each, every
jad woman; hussy
jaukin delay
jink dodge
jo sweetheart
jocteleg clasp-knife
jow toll
kae thief
kail-runt stalk of the kail plant
kane payment in kind
kebar rafter
kebbuck homemade cheese
keek peek
kennin little
kings’-hood paunch
kintra country
kirn merrymaking at the end of harvest; churn
kittle tune up, play; rouse
kiutle fondle, cuddle
kye cows
kythe make known
lane lonely; her lane by herself; thy-lane by yourself
lave rest
lav’rock lark
lay, lea pasture
leal loyal
lear learning
lee lang whole
leeze me a blessing on
leister trident
lift sky
limmer mistress
link skip
list enlist
loot let out
lowe rage, blaze
lowp leap; lap leapt; lap the
hool jumped out of her chest
lugget caup shallow wooden dish with handles; luggie wooden dish
lunt puff of smoke; steam
lyart streaked red and white;
grey
Mahoun the devil
mailin smallholding, tenant farm
man of Uzz Job
Mar’s-year 1715, when the Earl of Mar led the Jacobite revolt
mashlum mixed meal
meikle, muckle great; meikle corn oats
melder an occasion when a customer’s corn was taken to be ground at the mill
mell have dealings with
melvie soil
men’ repent
menseless boorish
messan lap-dog; cur
midden-hole hole in a dung heap
mim demure
mirk dark
mischanter mishap
mislear’d mischievous
mite-horn horn on the harvest-bug modewurk mole
moop nibble
muscle mussel
nappy ale
nieve fist
niffer comparison
noddle head
norland northern
o’ boot as well
orra spare
outler quey young cow lying out at night
pack intimate
pang stuff
party-match card competition
pattle, pettle spade used to clean the plough
penny-wheep small beer
philibeg kilt
pictur’d beuks playing cards
plack small coin; plackless penniless
plaidie tartan cloak
pliskie trick
pliver green plover
plumpet sank
pock bag
poortith poverty
pou, pow, pu pull
press cupboard
prie her mou’ kiss her
pussie hare
pyke pick at
pyle grain
quean young girl
queir choir
raible gabble
rak’d her had sex with her
randie rude, riotous
rant spree; rantan merry
rape rope
rash-buss clump of rushes
ratton rat
raucle rough, coarse
raught reached
ream foam
reave thieve
reck heed
rede advice
reekan bloody; reeket smoky
reestet cured
remead remedy
rigwoodie withered
ripp handful
rive break up
roose praise
roupet husky
row roll
rowte low
rowth plenty
rozet resin
run-deil complete devil
rung cudgel
runkl’d wrinkled
runt cabbage stalk
ryke reach
sair-wark labour
sark shift; sark-neck collar
scrieve glide swiftly
settlin quieting
shavie trick
shaw small wood in a hollow
sheugh trench
shore offer; threaten
sicker steady
sinsyne since then
skaith damage
skellum rascal
skelpie-limmer hussy; skelp slap; hurry; skelpan, skelping smacking
skirl shriek
sklent direct with malice; slanting
skyte blow that rebounds at an angle
slae blackthorn
slap gap in a dyke or fence
sleeket smooth
smeddum insecticide powder
smoor’d was smothered
smoutie ugly
smytrie numerous collection
snash abuse
sneeshin mill snuff box
snell bitter
snick-drawing crafty
snirtle snigger
snowck sniff
sonsie good-natured
souple soft
sowther patch up
spae foretell
spairge bespatter
span-lang hand’s-breadth
spean wean
spier ask
spleuchan tobacco pouch, purse
splore uproar
sprattle scramble
spunkie will o’ the wisp
stan’ pause
stank pond
staw stole
steek stitch
steek shut
steer molest
(a) steerin in motion
stegh stuff oneself with food
stent duty
stibble-rig reaper who takes the lead
stirk young bullock
stoiter stagger
stoor harsh
stoure tumult
stowp tankard
strae-death natural death in bed
streek stretch
stroan’t pissed
strunt liquor
strunt move confidently, strut
studdie anvil
sturt trouble; sturtan afraid
sucker sugar
sugh rushing sound of wind
swat sweated
swats new small beer
swirlie full of knots
swither state of agitated uncertainty
syne then; lang syne long ago
tack tenure
taet tuft
tak aff drink up; tak the gate go home
tap-pickle grain at the end of the stalk
tapsalteerie topsy-turvy
tassie goblet
tawtied shaggy
tent open-air pulpit
tent care; take heed; tentie watchful
thack thatch
thairms fiddle strings
thole endure
thrang crowd; in a crowd, busy
thrave two sets of corn sheaves
thraw frustrate; twist; for thrawing to prevent warping
(a’) throu’ther, throw’ther in confusion
till’t to it
timmer timber
tine lose
tippeny ale originally sold at 2d a Scots pint
tirl rattle
tod fox
toom empty
toop ram
tow bell-rope
towsing fondling
towzie unkempt, shaggy
toy old-fashioned cap
tozie tipsy
trepan beguile
trow believe
tryst cattle market
twin deprive
unco very; strange
usquabae, usquebae whisky
vap’rin fuming
vauntie vain
wabster weaver
wae sucks alas; wae worth cursed be
waft sea-trip
wale choicest kind; choose, pick out
wame stomach; womb
warklum tool
warsle struggle
wat know, be sure
water-fit mouth of a river
waver flutter
wawlie fine, handsome
wean child
weary fa’ a curse on
weason gullet
whang thick slice of cheese
whid lie
whiles, whyles at times
whin gorse
whitter draught of liquor
whittle knife
wiel eddy
wight fellow
wimple twist, meander
winn winnow
winnock window; winnock-bunker window-seat
win’t wound
wintle roll
winze curse
wonner specimen
woodie rope for hanging
wooer-bab garter at knee tied with two loops and worn by a suitor
worms long spiral tubes at the head of a whisky still in which the vapour is condensed
worset worsted
wud angry
wyle lure
wylecoat flannel vest
wyte reproach
yell milkless
yill ale; yill-caup wooden vessel for drinking ale
yird earth