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from Shadowed Valley by John J. Graham. The personal pronoun 'you' becomes 'du' (except when respect is being shown to an older person). The relative pronouns 'who', 'which', 'that' become 'at', e.g. 'Da man at cam yesterday.' The vowel sound 'ö' occurs frequently instead of the English 'oo' sound, e.g. 'spön' for 'spoon', 'shö' for 'she', 'tö' for 'too'. 'Der' means both 'there is' and 'there are', and 'dey wir' means both 'there was' and 'there were'. 'Have' becomes 'a' in certain situations, e.g. 'He could a come' and 'It micht a been better.'
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aaber - eager aamos - a gift promised in the hope that a wish will be granted to the donor aet - state of agitation airt - direction antrin - occasional ax - ask baal - throw bellin - festering Beltane - the first of May bide - stay bigg - build birze - squeeze bittersie - cold, stormy weather blaand - sour whey blibe - small blister blyde - glad böd - fishing store braa - considerable braaly - considerably briggistanes - footpath of flat stones in front of house browst - a brewing (as of tea) brönnie - a round, thick oatmeal scone bruck - refuse burstin - meal made from corn dried in a kettle over the fire. caavin - eating hungrily clinkin - splendid clods - small, hard peats clokkin - broody cloot - cloth coarn - small quantity corbie - raven cosh - friendly crö - sheep-fold crub - small circular dry-stone enclosure for growing cabbage plants cug - small, wooden vessel cummelled - capsized daalamist - mist which gathers in a valley at night dad - thud dadderi - drudgery daffick - wooden bucket dat in traath - expression conveying the meaning "yes, truly" dellin - (n.) a portion of a field allocated for a crop, (v.) delving demmel - to fill by dipping into water demsels - themselves depooperit - impoverished dess - stack of hay ding - knock disjaskit - exhausted drookled - soaked dunter - eider duck dwaam - bemused state eela - rod-fishing, mainly for piltocks, from small boats eenoo - just now eft - belonging to the stern part of a boat faells - turves fantation - starvation filsket - high-spirited flaachter - flutter fleckit - white, with large black or brown spots flittin - moving tethered animal to fresh grazing flyte - scold foo - how forro - farrow forsmo - snub foy - celebration to mark special occasion frush - mass furt - outside fyaarm - fawn gaan - gape gaat - castrated male pig gaet - path galder - immoderate laughter gansey - jersey gavel - gable glisk - glint glower - stare gluff - frighten göd - went green paek - first growth of grass in Spring grice - pig grind - gate gulder - angry outburst gurr - mucous in corner of eyes gyaan - going haaf - deep-sea fishing in open boats haelin - pouring hail - haul (as of fish) halliket - given to wild, immoderate behaviour hallo - bundle of straw hantle - considerable quantity hap - shawl hedder-kowe - large bush of heather hellimöld - earth in a churchyard hiddle - conceal hill-grind - gate between township and hill pasture hirdet - harvested hoidie-holls - hiding-places horn-towes - tethers hömin - evening twilight howdie - local, untrained midwife huggiestaaves - gaffs infield - best land, used for intensive cultivation and usually nearest dwelling houses joob - mire kabe - thowel-pin of a boat kail trowe da reek - expression meaning 'a severe rebuke' kanni - seat in stern of boat kirn-milk - curds kishie - straw basket carried on back kist - chest kistin - the laying of a dead body in its coffin kline - spread klurmose - uproar krang - carcase kyemp - compete laalie - plaything lakki - the third stomach of a ruminant animal - the expression derives from the fact that it has many folds. lammiehoose - outhouse for lambs lang an da lent - eventually leet - heed lem - dishes less-a-less - alas liftin (in) - term applied to a cow in byre who was so weak she was unable to stand unaided. lippen - expect lipper - term of abuse lispund - 36 pounds weight little wirt - poorly loup - leap lubba - rough vegetation lukk - entreat lunkin - walking with a bobbing action mann - must manna - must not Martinmas - 11th November masheev - injure mellishon - curse merk - a unit of land based on value rather than area. It could vary from less than an acre to several acres. mirl - to quiver moniment - fool moorie - snowstorm moothliftin - a bite of food morro - equal neeb - doze neebit - sickly nev - fist noosts - places on beach where boats are drawn up o - of offsneet - blow (the nose) ootmaagit - exhausted oxters - armpits paet-neuk - corner of but-end where peats were stored. peerie - small peester - chuckle pig - earthenware bottle piltock - coal-fish two to four years old pirr - very light breeze plantie-crub - small circular dry-stone enclosure for growing cabbage plants. preeve - taste puckle - single grain of corn puir aamos - frail purl - poke with fingers quarter-poor - at this time the homeless poor were allocated by the Kirk to specific homes in the parish to be visited in rotation. ranselman - a constable with powers to search premises for stolen property and apprehend thief. rant - dance reddin (up kin) - tracing ancestry redd mad - extremely angry reeb - mark reestit mutton - smoke-dried mutton restin-chair - long wooden seat with back and arms rig - field rig - backbone rivlin - shoe made from untanned hide of animal roog - to pile up into a heap röd - rambling talk sabbin - soaking scattald - common hill pasture scraichin - screeching scroo - small corn-stack shap - chop sharg - nagging sharn - dung sheelds - young men sixern - six-oared boat shott - compartment in sixern used for holding catch. skelp - slap skirl - shrill laugh skoit - glance skyimp - mockery of a teasing nature skyumple - large, mossy peat skurtfoo - armful slap - a breach in a wall slokkit - extinguished smeeg - smirk smoot - slink sneck - (n.) latch, (v.) snip offsneet - blow (the nose) snyirked - creaked Soaroo - (da Soaroo) the Devil sove - stun spöllie - break up spootin - shooting sprechin - crying sprees - jollification sprikklin - wriggling springs - fiddle tunes sprit - run stang - pang start - while steek - shut stooks - pairs of sheaves set up to dry stramp - step stravaig - wander swack - fit and strong swee - suffer (lit. sting) syne - then taatit rug - bed-quilt made of thick worsted yarn. taft - thwart in a boat tang - seaweed tapster - top dog tarri-crook - fork with prongs set at right angles to shaft, used mainly in gathering seaweed for manure. tilt - heyday tiftin - throbbing tirse - (v.) to become angry, (n.)angry mood. tise - entice töllie - quarrel toonmals - land adjacent to dwelling-house used permanently for grazing. towsman - man in charge of halyards traawirt - obstinate and awkward traepin - arguing trapple - throat trave - 24 sheaves of corn tröttle - mutter in a disaffected way. trowe - through truss - untidy state tullie - knife tuskar - implement for cutting peats twartree - few (lit. two or three) tweet - whittle uncan - from another area vaige - journey vargin - working under difficult conditions veesik - an old song or ballad waar - worse wae - loth wael - select wat - wager whalp - lit. puppy, but used here in a derogatory manner wi - with winderfil - marvellous, considering situation wint - accustomed wir - our wiroos - our house wirset - woollen thread won - got Yakki - Eskimo yock - grab |
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This Glossary appears as an appendix to Shadowed Valley by John J. Graham. Top of this page | |||
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