Scots Tongue
Scots Tongue
This is an informal guide to the
Scots tongue for the benefit of occasional visitors to Scotland or readers of
Scottish literature. It makes no claims to be authoritative, complete or
accurate. The author is from Glasgow, so coverage of words from other areas in
Scotland is bound to be incomplete.
A visitor to Scotland is most likely to come across standard English pronounced in the local fashion. However Scotland has its own distinct language. Apart from the Scots tongue, Scotland also claims a second language - Gaelic (which has affinities to Irish Gaelic, Welsh, ancient Cornish and Breton).
The Scots language evolved from Anglo-Saxon; a parallel development led to English. Other influences on Scots included Latin, Norse, French and Gaelic. Scots first became widespead in the 14th century, and was commonly used at the Scottish court.
Major regions in Scotland (e.g. Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Borders, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife, Inverness, Moray) have their own distinct accents and dialect words. See, for example, the Glasgow Patter books by Michael Munro (Holmes McDougall, Glasgow). Many older words survive thanks to the poetry of Robert Burns and others. Only words in general use are included below. There are dictionaries of Scottish words, e.g. the Concise Scots Dictionary (Aberdeen University Press).
The following web links may be useful:
| Sound/Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ch | This is an aspirated ‘k’ sound as in the German ‘ach’. |
| Gaelic | This celtic language spoken in Scotland (‘Gàidhlig’) has a whole range of sounds that can be best learned by hearing them. |
| glottal stop | In some areas of Scotland (e.g. Glasgow), the final ‘t’ of a syllable is not pronounced. Instead the throat is closed to cut the word off. Thus ‘bit’ might sound more like ‘bih’ (with a short and truncated vowel), or ‘water’ as ‘wa-er’. |
| -ing | The final ‘g’ is often elided (e.g. ‘walking’ sounds like ‘walkin’). |
| Milngavie | A town near Glasgow whose pronunciation is commonly used to confuse visitors (‘Mil-guy’ or ‘Mul-guy’). |
| qu | This is silent in some proper names (e.g. Colquhoun = ‘Co-hoon’). |
| r | This is rolled on the tongue. |
| stress | The pattern of stress is usually that of English, but in some proper names the last syllable is stressed (e.g. Dun-bar, Dun-lop). |
| z | This is silent in some proper names (e.g. Culzean = ‘Cul-ain’, Dalziel = ‘Dee-el’, Menzies = ‘Ming-is’). |
The following list gives sample Scottish words that a visitor or reader might come across, and is certainly not complete. Most words are likely to be used only in Scotland, but some are known to English speakers in general. The spelling of some words is unclear as the language is mostly spoken. Some words also have other meanings.
| Scottish | Standard English |
|---|---|
| -a | -ow (e.g. ‘arra’ = arrow, ‘ra morra’ = tomorrow) |
| a' | all |
| Aberdonian | of/from Aberdeen |
| aboot | about |
| ae | of |
| -ae | ‘have’ as a suffix to a verb (widae = would have) |
| aebody | anybody |
| agin | against |
| aff | off |
| Ah | I |
| ain | own |
| aglae | awry |
| an' | and |
| ane | one |
| aroun | around |
| Athol brose | sweet oatmeal dessert |
| auld | old |
| Auld Reekie | nickname for Edinburgh |
| Auld Lang Syne | a poem by Burns widely sung at New Year (literally ‘old long since’, sometimes incorrectly quoted as ‘for the sake of auld lang syne’) |
| aw | all |
| awa | away |
| awfu, awfy | awfully |
| backspeirin (Doric) | question |
| bahookie | behind (buttocks) |
| bairn | child |
| bampot (Glaswegian) | headcase |
| bannock | biscuit or scone |
| (The) Barras | outdoor street market in Glasgow (‘The Barrows’, Barrowland) |
| bauchle | worn-out shoe (literally), an old and dishevelled man (figuratively) |
| ba'heid, bawheid | bald headed person |
| baw | ball |
| bawbee | an old penny |
| ben | mountain |
| ben | inside (e.g. ‘cam ben the hoose’) |
| besom | broom (literally), difficult woman (figuratively) |
| bide | stay |
| bidie-in | live-in partner |
| bile | boil (e.g. ‘Awa an bile yer heid!’ = ‘Get lost!’) |
| birl | spin |
| blae | blue |
| blaeberry | bilberry |
| blether | (idle) chatter |
| blootered | very drunk |
| Blue Train | Glasgow suburban train |
| boak | vomit, retch |
| body | person (e.g. ‘Whit's a body tae dae?’) |
| bogle | phantom |
| bonnie, bonny | beautiful |
| bonspiel | (ice) curling tournament |
| bowf | smell strongly |
| brae | slope |
| braw | fine |
| breenge | rush |
| breeks | trousers |
| bridie | meat in pastry pie |
| broch | prehistoric circular stone tower |
| broon | brown (‘The Broons’ is a well-known cartoon from the Sunday Post newspaper) |
| brose | broth made using oatmeal |
| bumfle | bump or raised area (in cloth) |
| bunnet | cap (bonnet) |
| burn | stream |
| Burns Supper | a traditional dinner to celebrate the birth of famous Scottish poet Robert Burns (25th January) |
| buroo | employment bureau (‘on the buroo’ = receiving unemployment benefit) |
| but and ben | cottage |
| ca', caw<, caa/td> | call |
| ca'/caw canny | be careful |
| caber | a log used in the traditional game of ‘tossing the caber’ |
| cam | came |
| canny | careful |
| cauld | cold |
| caw | drive, turn (e.g. rope, wheel) |
| ceilidh | a traditional event with music and dancing |
| chanty | chamber pot |
| chiel | fellow |
| chuckie | pebble |
| chust (Highland) | just |
| claes | clothes |
| clarty | dirty |
| claymore | the traditional Scottish broad sword (‘Gaelic claidheamh mhor’ - great sword) |
| clegg | horsefly |
| Clockwork Orange | nickname for the Glasgow underground due to the colour of the coaches |
| cloot | cloth, clothing |
| clootie dumpling | a pudding (like Christmas pudding) steamed in a cloth |
| close | common stairwell in a tenement |
| cludgie | toilet |
| clype | telltale |
| cock-a-leekie | chicken and leek soup |
| coo | cow |
| coorie | hide, nestle |
| coorie doon | cuddle down (to sleep) |
| cootie | louse, nit |
| corbie | raven, crow |
| corrie-fisted | left-handed |
| coup, cowp | tip over, tumble, dump |
| couthy | genial |
| crabbit | ill-tempered |
| cranachan | dessert made from oats, cream, whisky and raspberries |
| cratur | creature (used jocularly for whisky) |
| craw | crow (‘shoot the craw’ = go away) |
| Crivens! | Crumbs! |
| croft(er) | small-scale farm(er) |
| crowdie | curd cheese (Highlands), oatmeal and water or buttermilk (Lowlands) |
| cud | could |
| cullen skink | soup made with smoked haddock |
| cundie (Dundonian) | drain at side of road |
| dae | do |
| dammert (Doric) | exhausted |
| daunce | dance (an old riposte: ‘Are ye dauncin? No it's just the way ah'm staunin.’) |
| daur, daar | dare |
| deid | dead |
| de'il | devil |
| dike | wall |
| dod | lump |
| dominie | schoolmaster |
| donnert | stunned |
| doo | dove (or pigeon) |
| doocot | dovecot |
| dook | duck (in the sense of wetting - ‘dooking for apples’ is a Halloween game involving placing your face into a basin of water to retrieve a floating apple by biting on it) |
| doon | down (‘doon the watter’ is a trip down the Clyde) |
| doot | doubt (‘Ah hae ma doots’ = I'm doubtful) |
| Doric | dialect of North-East Scotland (e.g. Aberdeen, Moray) |
| dram | small quantity of whisky |
| drap, drappie | drop |
| dreep | drip (also used of dropping off a wall) |
| dreich | miserable, cold and wet (weather) |
| drookit | soaking wet |
| drouth(y) | thirst(y) |
| dug | dog |
| dunderheid | idiot |
| Dundonian | of/from Dundee |
| dunt | bump |
| dunny | room at bottom of tenement |
| dwam | daydream |
| dyke | wall |
| ee, een | eye, eyes |
| eechie ochie | neither here nor there |
| eejit | idiot |
| efter | after |
| erse | arse |
| -fa | -fall |
| fa (Doric) | who |
| fae | from |
| faimly | family |
| fair | somewhat (e.g. ‘fair taken wi’) |
| Fair (fortnight) | traditional summer holiday period in Glasgow (the second two weeks of July, e.g. ‘where are ye gaun fur the Fair?’) |
| faither | father |
| fankle | (twisted) mess |
| fash | bother (‘dinnae fash yersel’ = don't bother yourself) |
| feart | afraid |
| ferm(er) | farm(er) |
| farrer (Doric) | father |
| first foot | the first visitor in the New Year (who, for good luck, should be handsome and bring a gift such as a piece of coal) |
| firth | estuary |
| fit (Doric) | what |
| fit | foot |
| fitba | football |
| flair | floor |
| footer | fiddle, nuisance |
| footer about | mess about |
| forby(e) | besides |
| fower | four |
| fowk | folk |
| frae | from |
| frein | friend |
| fu' | full, drunk |
| fur | for |
| fush | fish |
| gae, gang | go |
| gallus | daring |
| (stupid) galoot | idiot |
| gaun | going |
| get het up | become agitated |
| gey | rather |
| ghillie | hunting/fishing guide, laced shoe |
| gillie | hunting/fishing guide |
| girdle | flat, round plate for baking |
| girn | complain, cry (e.g. of child) |
| glaikit | stupid, glazed (expression) |
| Glaswegian | of/from Glasgow |
| glaur | mire |
| Glescae | Glasgow |
| glen | valley |
| gloaming | dusk |
| gonny | (are you) going to (e.g. ‘Gonny no shout sae loud?’) |
| gowk | fool (e.g. ‘Hunty gowk’ refers to April Fool's Day) |
| gralloch | to disembowel, entrails (of a deer) |
| greet | weep |
| guddle | fish with the hands (figuratively a mess) |
| guid | good |
| guiser | child who goes round the houses dressed up on Halloween (‘guisin’) |
| hae | have |
| haggis | pudding made from minced meat (offal) and oatmeal |
| haill | whole |
| hame | home |
| hauf | half |
| haver | talk nonsense |
| Havers! | Nonsense! |
| haud | hold (‘Haud yer wheesht!’ = ‘Shut up!’) |
| hauf | half |
| haugh | meadow by a river |
| heavy | dark beer |
| heid | head |
| heid bummer | head person |
| Help ma Boab! | Goodness gracious! |
| hen | vocative term for a woman (e.g. ‘It's aw richt, hen’), or a general term of endearment for anyone |
| hert(y) | heart(y) |
| het | heated (also ‘it’ of someone chosen in a children's game) |
| Hielan | Highland |
| high heidyin | high-up person in organisation |
| hing | hang (‘hingin oot the windae’ is street-watching from one's window) |
| hirple | limp |
| Hogmanay | New Year's Eve |
| hoor | whore |
| hoose | house |
| hootenanny | celebration (e.g. New Year) |
| Hoots! | Well then! |
| hough | shank of meat |
| howk | dig (tattie howkin is digging for potatoes) |
| howf(f) | inn |
| howk | dig |
| huv | have |
| -icht | -ight (e.g. nicht, richt) |
| ilka | every |
| intae | into |
| -it | -ed (e.g. ‘wantit’ = ‘wanted’) |
| ither | other |
| jalouse | guess |
| Jessie | a cowardly or weak-willed male (e.g. ‘Ye're just a big Jessie!’) |
| Jimmy, Jock | generic term for a man (e.g. ‘Hey there, Jimmy!’) |
| jine | join |
| Jings! | Gosh! |
| jist | just |
| jobbery (spelling?) | squint |
| keech | excrement, rubbish |
| keek | look |
| ken | know |
| kirk | church |
| lad o' pairts | talented man |
| laddie | boy |
| laich (Doric) | low |
| laldie/laldy | thrashing (‘gie it laldie’ = give it all your energies) |
| Lake of Menteith | the only lake in Scotland, all others being called lochs |
| lang | long |
| lassie | girl |
| leid | language |
| len | lend |
| lle (Doric) | oil |
| loch | lake |
| loon (Doric) | boy |
| loup | leap |
| loupin | (literally) leaping, (figuratively) throbbing or disgusting |
| lug | ear |
| lum | chimney (e.g. ‘lang may your lum reek’ = may you always be prosperous enough to have coal) |
| ma | my |
| maet (Doric) | food |
| mair | more |
| maist | most |
| mak | make |
| makar | poet |
| maroclous (Glaswegian) | very drunk (‘miraculous’) |
| maun | must |
| maw | mother |
| merrit | married |
| messages | shopping |
| micht(y) | might(y) |
| Michty me! | Goodness gracious! |
| midden | rubbish heap |
| mind | remember (e.g. ‘dae ye mind him?’) |
| mingin | smelly |
| mither | mother |
| mon | vocative term for a man (e.g. ‘Whit're ye daeing, mon?’) |
| Mon! | My! |
| mony | many |
| moose | mouse |
| mooth | mouth |
| morra | (to)morrow |
| muir | moor |
| -na, -nae | ‘no’, or ‘not’ as a suffix to a verb (dinna = don't, wisnae = wasn't) |
| neep | turnip |
| ne'er | never |
| Ne'erday | New Year's Day |
| neuk | corner |
| no | not (e.g. ‘it's no hot’) |
| (the) noo | now (e.g. ‘Ah'm gaun oot the noo’) |
| nyaff | irritating or worthless (person) |
| o | of |
| Och! | Well! |
| Och aye the noo! | Well then! |
| -ocht | -ought (e.g. bocht, thocht) |
| onding (Doric) | heavy rain/snow |
| ony | any |
| oor | our |
| oot(side) | out(side) |
| Orcadian | from Orkney |
| outwith | outside |
| ower | over, rather |
| oxter | armpit |
| palaver | fuss |
| pairt | part (‘a lad o pairts’ = someone of significance) |
| panjoteralised (Doric) | very drunk |
| paralytic | very drunk |
| paw | father |
| pech | pant |
| peely-wally | pale |
| peever | hopscotch (the peever being the puck) |
| pibroch | music for the bagpipes |
| piece | slide of bread with jam, etc. |
| polis | police |
| procurator fiscal | chief public prosecutor |
| provost | mayor |
| puddin | pudding |
| puggle | tire out (e.g. ‘fair puggled’ = ‘rather worn out’) |
| puir | poor |
| pun(d) | pound (money, weight) |
| quine (Doric) | girl |
| ra | the (e.g. ‘ra nicht’ = tonight) |
| rale | real |
| rammy | noisy fight |
| rid | red |
| rone (pipe) | down-pipe from gutter |
| sae | so |
| sair | sore (‘a sair fecht’ = ‘a sore fight’ means something problematic) |
| Samhain | (Gealic) Halloween |
| sang | song |
| Sassenach | an Englishman (‘Saxon’) |
| scratcher | bed |
| scunner | nuisance (‘fair scunnered’ = quite vexed) |
| see | consider (e.g. ‘see they computers’, prior to making some negative remark) |
| see in the bells | wait up until midnight on New Years Eve (when the bells are rung) |
| sees | give (e.g. ‘sees us a len ae yer newspaper’) |
| -sel | -self (e.g. ‘hissel’ = ‘himself’) |
| semmit | vest (undergarment) |
| sgian dubh | a knife often worn decoratively with Highland dress (Gaelic for ‘black knife’) |
| shieling | hut for pasturage |
| shoogle/shoogly | shake/shaky |
| shoot the craw | go |
| skelf | splinter |
| skelly | squint |
| skelp | smack |
| skirl | loud noise, wailing sound (of bagpipes) |
| skite | skip (off a surface, e.g. skiting stones off water), smack |
| skivvy | servant |
| Slàinte! (Mhath) (Gaelic) | Cheers!, Your Health! |
| slater | woodlouse |
| sma | small |
| smeddum | dust, spirit |
| smirr | fine rain (noun and verb) |
| snaw | snow (‘like snaw aff a dike’ = very quickly) |
| snell | very cold (weather) |
| Special | a commercial beer |
| sparra | sparrow |
| spurtle | wooden spoon |
| stan/staun | stand |
| stane | stone |
| stank | drain (in road) |
| staun | stand |
| steamie | communal wash-house |
| stoat, stot | bounce (heavy rain is said to stoat off the ground) |
| stoater | stunning woman |
| stoshious (Glaswegian, spelling?) | very drunk |
| stook | bundle of hay or straw |
| stookie | a uselessly immobile person (e.g. ‘dinnae stan aroun like a stookie’, i.e. like a stook), a plaster cast |
| stoor, stour | dust |
| stooshie/stushie | commotion |
| stowed out | packed full |
| stramash | commotion |
| stravaig | wander about |
| syboe | spring onion |
| -t | -ed |
| tae | to |
| tak | take |
| Tartan | a commercial beer |
| tattie | potato |
| telt | told |
| Teuchter | Highlander (often pejorative) |
| thae/they | that/those (e.g. ‘see they computers’) |
| thegither | together |
| thirl | bind, pierce |
| thole | endure |
| thon | that |
| thrapple | throat |
| thrawn | perverse |
| toon/toun | town |
| toty | tiny |
| (Edinburgh) Trades | traditional summer holiday period in Edinburgh (the first two weeks of July) |
| trauchle | trouble |
| trews | trousers |
| tumshie | turnip (figuratively a useless person) |
| twa | two |
| unco | very |
| verra | very |
| vratch (Doric) | nuisance |
| wabbit | pale and weak (as after illness or exertion) |
| wain | child |
| wally | china? (a ‘wally dug’ is a china dog book-end) |
| wan | one |
| watter | water (Glaswegians traditionally went ‘doon the watter’, i.e. the Clyde, for their holidays) |
| wean | child |
| wee | small |
| Wee Free | Free Church of Scotland |
| wee heavy | strong beer (barley wine) |
| weel | well |
| weel-kent | well-known |
| wersh | tasteless, bitter |
| wha | who |
| wham | whom |
| whaur | where |
| wheech | whiz |
| wheen | lot |
| Wheesht! | Quiet! |
| whit | what |
| wi | with |
| wid, wud | would |
| wifie | (old) woman |
| windae | window |
| wis/wus | was |
| wrang | wrong (an old pun: ‘is that a cake or am ah wrang?’ = ‘a meringue’) |
| wull | will |
| ye | you |
| yella, yalla | yellow |
| yer | your |
| yett | barred iron gate |
| yin | one |
Here are a very few examples of sayings:
| Saying | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A wee thing amuses the bairns | Simple people are amused by simple things |
| Guid things come in sma bulk | Just because something is small doesn't mean it's of little value |
| Here's tae us, wha's like us, gey few an they're aw deid (with variants on this) | A toast in jest, claiming that few others are like us |
| It taks a lang spoon tae sup wi' the de'il | Keep your distance when dealing with bad things |
| It's a sair fecht | That's too bad, that's life |
| Ne'er cast a cloot til May be oot | Do not discard clothing until May (month or blossom) is out |
| Tak tent o time ere time taks tent of thee | Take care of how you spend your time before you eventually die |
Some Scottish given (first) names derive from the Gaelic, some from other settlers' languages (e.g. English, Scandinavian). Here are some common examples:
| Forename | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Alasdair | English ‘Alastair’ or ‘Alexander’ |
| Andra | English ‘Andrew’ |
| Calum | English ‘Malcolm’ |
| Christina | Gaelic ‘Cairistiona’ |
| Dauvit | English ‘David’ |
| Donald | Gaelic ‘Domhnal’ |
| Dougal/Dugal | Gaelic ‘Dugall’, English ‘Dugald’ |
| Duncan | Gaelic ‘Donnchadh’ |
| Fergus | Gaelic ‘Fearghus’ |
| Fiona | Gaelic ‘Fionnuala’ |
| Flora | Gaelic ‘Floraidh’ |
| Hendrie | English ‘Henry’ |
| Iain | English ‘Ian’ |
| Kenneth | Gaelic ‘Coinneach’ |
| Kirsten | English ‘Christine’ |
| Lachlan | Gaelic ‘Lachlann’ |
| Mairead | English ‘Marion’ |
| Maìri | English ‘Mary’ |
| Morag | English ‘Marion’ |
| Niall | English ‘Neil’ |
| Rab/Rabbie | English ‘Robert’ |
| Seumas | English ‘James’ |
| Tam | English ‘Tom’ |
Scottish family names (surnames) often have the prefix ‘Mac' or ‘Mc' meaning ‘son of'. Telephone directories and the like often list these together; it can be hard to remember if someone is ‘MacLean' or ‘McLean', for example. Some family names derive from Scottish towns (e.g. Cowie, Glasgow, Stirling). Here are a very few examples of Scottish surnames (apart from the ‘Mac/Mc' forms):
| Surname |
|---|
| Baird |
| Blair |
| Buchanan |
| Campbell |
| Ferguson |
| Fraser |
| Gilmore/Gilmour |
| Muir |
| Scott |
| Stewart/Stuart |
| Wylie |
Place names in Scotland often have common prefixes, many derived from Gaelic or Norse. Ordinary words like ‘ben' and ‘glen' also appear frequently in names. Here are a few sample prefixes:
| Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Aber- | at the mouth of a river |
| Ard- | promontory, height |
| Auchen- | field |
| Auchter- | top of |
| Cambus- | where a twisting river passes |
| Dal- | meadow |
| Drum- | ridge |
| Dun- | hill or fort |
| -Inch- | island |
| Inver- | at the mouth of a river |
| Kil- | cell of a saint, churchyard |
| Kin- | head |
| Kinloch- | at the head of a lake |
| Kirk- | church, fort |
| Knock, Nock | hillock |
| Strath- | river valley |
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