Scots Language Centre

threap v. argue, contend, be disputatious; quarrel; assert

on 28th Jan 2008

Threap is derived from the Old English verb threapian meaning rebuke , reprehend. It is recorded with this sense in the ninth-century writings of the English King, Alfred. The earliest known use...

abune, aboon, abuin, etc. adv. and prep. above, over; etc.

on 21st Jan 2008

If you have ever attended a Burns' Supper, you will no doubt have heard the word abune in the Bard's famous Address to a Haggis: "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin...

abune, aboon, abuin, etc. adv. and prep. above, over; etc

on 21st Jan 2008

If you have ever attended a Burns' Supper, you will no doubt have heard the word abune in the Bard's famous Address to a Haggis: "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin...

abune, aboon, abuin, etc. adv. and prep. above, over; etc.

on 21st Jan 2008

If you have ever attended a Burns' Supper, you will no doubt have heard the word abune in the Bard's famous Address to a Haggis: "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin...

wee adj. small, tiny, little, restricted in size

on 14th Jan 2008

Wee is still generally recognised as a Scots word, even though it is now commonplace in many varieties of English. This little word has quite a complex history. It derives from an Old English te...

cranreuch n. hoar-frost

on 07th Jan 2008

Cranreuch is often found in literary works, a modern example being Matthew Fitt’s Scots science-fiction novel But n Ben A-Go-Go (2000): ‘His mankit airm transmittit sensations simultaneously ble...

first foot v. to be the first person to enter a house on New Year’s morning

on 02nd Jan 2008

First footin, or first fittin, is traditionally, if loosely, associated with the bringing of good (or bad) fortune to a household for the year ahead. Yet ‘traditions’ are not always as old as we...