Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1788-1816, 1897-1932, 1988-1996
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AWE, AW, Aa, Ya, Yaw, v.2 tr. Cf. Aucht, Yaucht, v.3 [ɑ:, ǫ:]
1. To owe (money, etc.). Also ppl. adj.Sc. 1816 Scott O. Mortality xxxiii.:
Lord Evandale awes ye a day in ha'arst.Sc. 1897 R. L. Stevenson St. Ives x.:
Him that awes siller should never gie siller.Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.:
Aw, owe; to be bound to pay.Cai.(D) 1907 D. B. Nicolson in County of Cai. 61:
He aa's me saxpence.Bnff.2 1932:
She ees't t' boast 'at she awed nae man a saxpence.m.Sc. 1988 William Neill Making Tracks 44:
Tam wi a gey ill grace
peyed him the awin siller.Ayr. a.1789 Burns The Ronalds, etc. xv.:
But devil a shilling I awe, man.
2. In Bch. yaw (obsol.) occurs with the force of a pr.p. See Awn(d) 1 and Aicht 2.ne.Sc. 1996 W. Gordon McPherson in Sandy Stronach New Wirds: An Anthology of Winning Poems and Stories from the Doric Writing Competitions of 1994 and 1995 60:
She wis weel in wi the Emmerteens - she hid gaen them maet ae hungry winter ti see them throu, an they waar ya her a day in Hairst. Bch. c.1915 Abd.15:
He wis yaw me a gweed somethin for fat wark Aw did tull him i' ma orra time.
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"Awe v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/awe_v2>
