Читать книгу Collins Scottish Words: A wee guide to the Scottish language - John Abernethy - Страница 11

The origins of the Scottish people are complicated, and Scotland’s history involves much conquest and reconquest by various peoples. However, two particular tribes have strong claims to being in at the start of the Scottish nation: the Picts and the Scots.

The Picts were a fairly mysterious set of people. Records of their language exist on a few beautifully carved stones in the north of Scotland but these inscriptions remain largely undeciphered. We know that places with names beginning ‘Pit-’ were probably Pictish settlements but that’s about it. We don’t even know what they called themselves; the label ‘Picts’ comes from Latin Picti, meaning painted men, suggesting that they were heavily tattooed or painted themselves with woad. They were said to be a relatively small, dark-haired people. Apparently they gave any Romans who ventured north of Hadrian’s Wall such a hard time that ‘haste ye back’ fell on deaf ears. They were converted to Christianity in the sixth century by Saint Columba and other intrepid missionaries, and their kingdom came to be known as Alba, a name which endures as the Gaelic name for Scotland.

We know more about the Scots, the Gaelic-speaking tribes from Ireland who started raiding what is now Argyll in the fifth and sixth centuries before deciding that they liked it so much that they preferred to stay. They established the kingdom of Dalriada, which took in much of Northern Ireland, the Western Isles and the western mainland. The Scots gradually conquered the Pictish lands, absorbing or killing off the Picts themselves, until their ninth-century king Kenneth MacAlpine was able to rule as Kenneth I of Scotland. Nowadays you don’t have to be a Gael to be a Scot; you just have to arrange to be born here.

corrie-fisted adjective left-handed: The teacher used tae gie us the belt if we were corrie-fisted. [from the Gaelic cearr left or wrong hand]

If your surname is Kerr or Carr, it’s likely that you had a left-handed ancestor in the distant past.

corrie-fister noun a left-handed person

coup or cowp (pronounced kowp) noun 1 a rubbish tip: He’s away tae the coup wi’ his auld computer. 2 a dirty or untidy place: Tidy up that coup of a room of yours. | verb to turn or fall over: The wean couped her bowl onto the floor. [from the Middle English cowp to strike]

couthy or couthie (pronounced kooth-i) adjective 1 plain, homely, or unsophisticated: His poetry unaffectedly blended the couthy with the cosmopolitan. 2 comfortable and snug: They gave us a braw, couthy wee room on the ground floor. 3 sociable and friendly: They’re such a couthy bunch that you’ll soon make friends. [from the Old English cūth known]

cowk verb spoken in Northeast to retch or vomit: The sea got rough and ane or twa bairns were cowkin ower the side.

crabbit (pronounced krab-it) adjective grumpy or bad-tempered: He’s aye crabbit first thing in the morning. [a Scots form of crabbed]

crannie noun spoken in Northeast the little finger, or pinkie: the size o’your crannie

craw steps or corbie steps plural noun the small steps on the gable of a roof in traditional Scottish architecture: We could make out the steeples and craw steps of the old town.

creel noun a large basket used to carry bread or fish: plenty herring to fill the creel A labster creel is a wickerwork trap for catching lobsters and shellfish: The fisherman told us that there was a labster creel on the seabed under each of the little buoys.

creeshie adjective greasy or dirty: Ah’m no eatin ony mair of thae creeshie burgers o’ theirs. [from creesh fat or tallow]

crivvens or criffens interjection an exclamation of surprise: Crivvens, is that the time already?

This word is considered so inoffensive as to be quite suitable for ministers and aunties, even though some people think it was originally a form of Christ defend us.

crowdie (pronounced krow-di) noun a soft white cheese made by straining the whey from soured milk and beating up the remaining curd with salt: The teashop served home-made scones with bramble jam amd crowdie. [perhaps from crud, an earlier form of curd]

It might be best to keep this rather unfortunate association with ‘crud’ at the back of your mind the next time you see crowdie on the menu.

cuddy or cuddie noun a donkey or a horse: My legs are as stiff as an auld cuddy. [possibly a nickname for Cuthbert, although that seems rather a highfalutin name for a donkey]

cundy noun the gutter at the side of the road or the cover of a drain: The cundy was choked with dead leaves and rubbish. [a Scottish pronunciation of the English conduit]

cushie-doo (pronounced koosh-ee-doo) or cushat-doo (pronounced koosh-at-doo) or cushie noun a wood pigeon: Ah hear a cushie-doo cooin in yon tree, but Ah cannae spot it. [from the English cushat plus doo, a Scots word for pigeon]

dachle (pronounced daCH-l) verb spoken in Northeast to dawdle or loiter: Dinnae dachle on the road or it’ll be dark afore ye get back.

daffin noun playful or foolish behaviour: He wis aye wan for daffin wi’ the lassies.

dander or dauner (pronounced dawn-er) noun a stroll: I’m just away for a wee dander. | verb to stroll: You can dander across the Solway sands to Rough Island, but beware of being stranded by the incoming tide.

darg noun a day’s work or a task to be done: He’ll never ken the satisfaction o’ finishin a good day’s darg. [from a contraction of day-work]

daud (pronounced dawd) or dad noun a lump or chunk of something: Gie’s a daud o’ breid tae keep me goin.

deave (pronounced deev) verb to deafen someone, or to bewilder or weary them with noise or talk: Grandad was always deaving us with his war stories.

deek spoken in Edinburgh & Southeast verb to look at or see something: Deek this gadgie. | noun a look at something: Have a deek out the window. [Romany]

deif (pronounced deef) adjective deaf: I’m talking to you! Are ye deif or something?

deil (pronounced deel) noun the devil: They say the deil looks after his ain.

dicht (pronounced diCHt or dite) verb to wipe something clean: Dicht roon the sink. | noun a wipe: Gie your face a dicht. [Old English diht to arrange]

diddy noun 1 a female breast or nipple: a photie o’ a lassie showin her diddies 2 spoken in Glasgow area a foolish person: D’ye know nothin, ya wee diddy?

dirl verb to vibrate or shake: The noise of the bagpipes made the very rafters dirl.