Scots Language Centre

Word of the week

roup n. sale or letting by public auction

on 31st Mar 2008

Roup is still well-known in some sections of the media, particularly in the north-east, where it is often used in reference to sales of farming goods and equipment. In February this year, the Ab...

keek v. peep, glance, watch surreptitiously, etc.

on 24th Mar 2008

Keek has been recorded in Scottish sources since the late fifteenth century, and is probably a borrowing from Middle English. A fair bit of keekin goes on in William Dunbar’s poem, The Tretis of...

limmer n. term of contempt (for a woman); rascal, rogue, etc

on 17th Mar 2008

Limmer has been used as a term of contempt for both men and women of various ages, but it was more often applied to men until around the eighteenth century. In John Bellenden’s translation of He...

hunker doon v. crouch, squat down; submit, resign oneself; shelter etc

on 10th Mar 2008

Hunker doon (or down), meaning crouch down, has been recorded in Scottish sources since the eighteenth century, but in the last hundred years or so it has also become popular in English, especia...

Guddle v. catch fish with your hands; prod, poke; mess about; work untidily

on 03rd Mar 2008