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SMOOR, SMUIR, SMORE v smother

on 31st Jan 2011

Smore, from Old English smorian, is defined in A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue as “To suffocate, smother, crush to death”. Not surprisingly, this is illustrated with a numb...

Worm n earthworm, serpent, dragon,

on 24th Jan 2011

A worm in Older Scots could be anything from an earthworm to a dragon. In 1590, Pitcairn’s Criminal Trials describes a case where Bessie Roy was charged with drawing a circle on the ground...

Vizzy v inspect closely, take aim, visit

on 17th Jan 2011

Old French ‘visiter’ and Old Norman French ‘viseer’ are related to the Latin ‘visitare’. ‘Visiter’, along with its Latin parent, gives us the word...

CLAVIE n a torch or tar-barrel carried at New Year

on 10th Jan 2011

One meaning of clavie was a torch carried round the boats in Morayshire fishing villages on Hogmanay with the object of blessing the boats and ensuring a successful season. The session records o...

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