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Learning in Literature

synd, syne v. rinse, wash (out)

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“synd, syne v. rinse, wash (out)”

4th February 2008

Synd or syne (not the auld lang yin) is recorded in English and Scots texts from the Middle Ages, but its origins are unknown. An early Scottish example is found in the works of the fifteenth-century soldier and poet, Gilbert Hay, who wrote of the promise of redemption: "to synde us of the origynale syn and to geve us eternale lyf".

There are few documented examples of the word during this period, but in slightly later sources we find that syndin on the wrong day of the week could land you in a spot of bother. Local records from seventeenth-century Selkirkshire tell of one Marion Scot, charged with washing clothes on Sunday. In her defence, she admitted she had "syndit them on the Sonday", though stressed she had washed them on the Saturday.

Synd can also mean, as the Scottish National Dictionary rather quaintly puts it, "wash out the throat by drinking". The eighteenth-century poem, A Drink Eclogue, by Robert Fergusson, describes a dank cellar "Whare hearty benders (hard drinkers) syn'd their drouthy trunk". Comparatively more perjink activities are described in J. L. Waugh’s story of Thornhill and its Worthies (1905): "An extra plateful of broth was supped in spoonfuls with the beef and potatoes, in order to sine the latter down".

Unfortunately we have few examples of synd in modern written sources, though it is still in widespread spoken use. It appeared in Peter Mason’s book, C’mon Geeze Yer Patter (1987), illustrated as follows: "Ye’d think they’d sine oot the plates afore dishin up yer dinner", but is a rare visitor to more mainstream publications. If you know of any further instances from printed texts, or would be willing to send us an illustration of your own usage of the word, please get in touch.