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Dictionary of Scots
Words likely to be found in Scots songs
Scots / English
Alphabetical index
A
- A (pr. "Ah")
- I (1st person singular)
- aa (pr. "aah")
- all
- abune (pr. "ah-bin")
- above
- ae (pr. "yay")
- a, an (Indefinite article)
- aff
- off
- afore
- before
- aft, aften
- often
- agin
- against
- ahint
- behind
- aiblins
- possibly
- aik
- oak tree
- ainlie
- only
- Ainster
- The correct pronunciation of "Anstruther"
- airt
- direction
- alane
- alone
- amang
- among
- amangst
- amongst
- an
- and
- ance, aince (Lothians pr. "yince", NorthEast often pr. "eence")
- once
- ane (Lothians pr. "yin" NorthEast often pr. "een")
- one
- anent
- regarding
- anither
- another
- at
- [1] same as English "at"
[2] "that" - auld
- old
- awa (pr. "awaah")
- away
B
- bairn, bairnie (Norse 'barn')
- child
- baith
- both
- barrie (traveller cant adopted into Lothian)
- very good ,
- bide
- stay, remain
- big
- build
- birk
- birch tree
- birkie
- [1]person bloated with conceit
[2]buffoon, idiot - birl
- spin round
- birlinn (pr. "birling") (Gaelic)
- traditional type of boat
- blate
- shy, timid
- blaw
- blow
- blether
- [1] (v.) converse, (n.) conversation
[2] verbose
[3] nonsense - bluid (pr. "blid", occasionally "bleed")
- blood
- blythe
- carefree, cheerful
- bonnie (freq. mistakenly spelled "bonny" by English speakers)
- beautiful
- brae
- hill
- brak
- break
- braw (Norse 'brå')
- fine, good
- breeks (Gaelic 'briocas')
- trousers
- brither
- brother
- brock
- badger (the animal)
- burn
- stream
- busk
- (v.) dress, put on clothing
C
- caa (pr. "kaah")
- call
- caad (pr. "kaahed")
- called
- cairt, cairtie (pr. "kert")
- (n.) a cart
- callant (from Gaelic)
- young man
- caller
- fresh (as in "caller herrin", fresh herring)
(one of the very rare incidences of a double-L spelling in Scots) - cannie (not to be confused with Northumbrian "canny")
- careful
- cantie
- at ease, contented
- carl
- mature man
- carlin
- mature woman
- cauld
- cold
- chaumer (Gaelic 'seomar' from French "chambre")
- room
- clachan (from Gaelic)
- small farmstead
- claymore (Gaelic 'clé mor')
- great sword of the kind associated with William Wallace (often wrongly used in reference to what is actually the broadsword)
- cowp
- overturn
- cran
- a measurement of a fish catch
- cutty stool
- the Stool of Repentance in a Presbyterian kirk
D
- dander
- temper, fury ("get yer dander up" - lose your temper)
- darg
- struggle
- daur
- dare
- ding (past tense "dang")
- knock down, demolish
- divvie (Lothians)
- idiot, fool
- dochter (German 'tochter')
- daughter
- dominie (Latin)
- schoolteacher
- Doric
- alternative name for Scots Language (most commonly used in reference to the North East dialect)
- doun
- down
- dowie
- doleful
- dree
- endure ("dree yer wierd" - endure your fate)
F
- fairm, fairmer, fairmt (pr. "ferm, fermer, fermt")
- farm, farmer, (v.) farmed
- fae, frae (Norse 'fra;')
- from
- faither
- father
- fankle
- (n.) tangle, jumble
(v.) to tangle - fecht
- (v.) fight
(n.) battle, fight - fechter
- warrior, fighter ("bonnie fechter" - great warrior)
- flouer
- flower
- forbye
- besides
- forrit
- forwards
- fou
- [1] full
[2] drunk ("roarin fou" - very drunk) - fower
- four
- fozie
- (adj.) stupid
- Free Kirk
- The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
G
- gaed
- went
- gait
- way
- gadgie (traveller cant, from Romany 'gajo')
- In cant, it is used to mean a non-traveller
adopted into Lothian Scots, used as a slightly aggressive way of addressing a person - galore (from Gaelic 'gu léor')
- in plenty (now widely used in English)
- gan, gang, ging
- go
- gaun
- going
- gear
- possessions
- gey
- very
- geylie
- merry (with drink)
- gie, gie's
- give
- gin
- if
- gleg
- sprightly, quick
- gloamin
- twilight
- gowan
- daisy
- gowd (Pr. as English 'loud')
- gold
- gray
- grey
- greet (past tense 'grat')
- cry (tears)
- guid (Pr. 'gid')
- good
H
- haar
- sea mist
- hairst
- harvest
- hairriet
- harrassed
- hale
- whole
- haim, hame
- home
- hap
- dress
- happit, happed
- dressed, clothed
- haivers
- (n.) nonsense
- haiverin
- (v.) speaking nonsense
- haun
- hand
- heid
- head
- Hielan
- Highland
- hing, hingit ("ng" as in English "sing")
- hang, hanged
- hoddan
- homespun
- houlet
- the owl
- hous (Norse 'hus')
- house
- hurdie
- buttock
I
- i (in some dialects "o")
- of
- ilk, ilka
- each, every
- intae
- into
- intil
- unto
- ither
- other
K
- keek
- peep
- keich (pr. "keech")
- excrement
- ken
- (v.) to know
- kirk
- church
- Kirk
- The Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)
- kye
- cattle
L
- laith
- reluctant
- Lallans
- alternative name for Scots Language
- lang
- long (re. distance or time)
- lassie
- lass
- laud
- lad
- lave
- remainder (As in "Whistle ower the lave o't")
- laverock
- the lark
- Lawlan
- Lowland
- licht, lichtlie
- light, lightly
- lift (German 'luft')
- air (can occasionally mean "sky")
- loun (pr. "loon") (NE and Perth)
- lad
- lowp
- leap, jump
M
- mak
- make
- makar
- songwriter, poet
- mankie (French "manqué")
- foul, dirty
- maun (pr. "mun")
- may, must
- maunnae (pr. "munnay"; NE "munna")
- may not, must not
- mavis
- the thrush
- mickle
- little, few
- mind
- remember, recall
- mingin (pr. as Eng. "sing")
- filthy, unpleasant (now adopted into vernacular English)
- mirk
- gloom, darkness
- mither
- mother
- monie, mony
- many
- muckle
- large, great
- mune (pr. "min")
- moon
N
- nae
- no
- naethin
- nothing
- nane
- none
- nicht
- night
- niest, niestan
- next
- no
- not
- nocht
- nothing
- nou (pr. "noo")
- now, at this moment
P
- plou(pr. "ploo")
- plough
- plouman
- ploughman
- ploy
- deed, escapade
- pouch(pr. "pooch")
- puir(pr. as English "pear")
- poor
- puirtith
- poverty
S
- sae
- so
- sair
- sore
- sang
- song
- sark
- shirt
- Sasanach (from Gaelic name for England 'An Sasunn')
- English person
- saul
- soul (spirit)
- sax
- six
- scunner
- disgust
- sees
- Please give me
- siccar (German 'sicher')
- sure, certain
- sheckle
- the wrist
- sieven
- seven
- skirl
- a false note on the pipes - never tell a piper they "skirled"!
- smashin (from Gaelic ' 's math sin')
- (exclamation) excellent! (adopted into English as 'smashing')
- sojer, sodger
- soldier
- Southron (Pr. 'sooth-run')
- English language
- spate
- (n.) to be in fast flood (e.g. a river)
- spier
- enquire, question
- stappit
- full to bursting (usually refers to eating)
- staun
- stand
- stegh
- stuff
- sumph
- idiot, halfwit
- syne (pr. as Eng. "sign")
- [1] presently
[2] at times
[2] thereafter
T
- tae
- to
- tak, taen
- take, taken
- takit, taken (pr. tah-kit, tah-kin)
- took
- thae
- they, those
- thaim
- them
- thair
- there, their
- thegither
- together
- thir
- these
- thocht
- thought
- thole
- tolerate, endure, put up with
- thon
- those
- thrang
- hesistant, reluctant
- thrapple
- the gullet
- thrawn
- obstinate
- til
- to, up to (e.g. "gae til" - go to; or "ane til sax" - one to six)
- tine
- separate, to part from
- tint
- lost
- tocher
- dowry
- toun (Pr. "toon")
- town
- twa, twae
- two
- twantie
- twenty
W
- wabbit
- weary, tired
- wame (Usually pr. "wyme")
- abdomen
- warl
- world
- waur
- worse ("Nane the waur" - no worse off)
- wee
- small (now quite commonly used in English)
- Wee Frees
- Colloquial name for the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
- weil
- well
- weil-faured
- blessed, literally "well-favoured"
- wha
- who
- wheesht
- quiet ("haud yer wheesht!" - be quiet!)
- whiles
- [1] eventually
[2] in time - whit
- what
- whummle
- capsize, overturn
- wi
- with
- wierd
- fate, destiny ("dree yer wierd" - endure your fate)
- wis
- [1] was
[2] us(Lothians - 1st person plural) - wirs
- ours (Lothians)
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