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• cundy n. a covered drain, the entrance to a drain; a tunnel, passage

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cundy n. a covered drain, the entrance to a drain; a tunnel, passage

“cundy n. a covered drain, the entrance to a drain; a tunnel, passage”

2nd July 2007

Cundy might be the word you use for a drain, or you might instead use one of several other words, depending on your location and dialect. Other weel-kent terms include syver (to rhyme with diver), stank and pen. The Linguistic Survey of Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s created many fascinating dialect maps showing the distribution pattern for these and other terms. Cundy is particularly prevalent in Angus, the Lothians, Lanarkshire and the eastern border counties.

Interestingly, many of these words are of French origin. Cundy is derived from French 'conduit' (channel, pipe conveying liquid), which still sounds very much like its modern Scottish cousin -- as with other French words ending in -uit, like 'nuit' (night), the final -t is silent. In contrast, the English word 'conduit', derived from the same French word, has evolved a quite different pronunciation. Scottish sources record use of 'condit' from medieval times, referring to types of passage. In John Ireland's late-fifteenth century Mirror of Wisdom, for example, the rivers enter 'within certane conditis of the erde (earth) unknawin to us'.

The first recorded use of the form cundy appears to be relatively late, though as with many such 'informal' terms, written evidence may reveal only half the story. It appears in early nineteenth century poetry, in texts such as James Ruickbie's The Wayside Cottager (1807): 'I mind whan neighbour Hewie's sheep, Through Wattie's cundy-holes did creep And eat the corn'. More recently, G. M. Martin's Dundee Worthies (1934) tells how 'A thorough examination of the "cundies" under shop windows was made and any treasure trove lifted therefrom'. So the next time something escapes, or is accidentally slittered, doon the literal or proverbial cundy (or stank, or syver, or jaw-hole), spare a thought for the journey such words have made to enrich our language.