Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1710, 1825-1933
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BARTIZAN, n. and v. Also †barteshing, barty.
I. n. 1. A battlemented parapet at the top of a castle or church; esp. a battlemented turret projecting from an angle at the top of a tower.Sc. 1710 Descr. Sheriffdom Lnk. and Rnf. (Maitland Club 1831) 46:
The house of Dalyell was ane old castle, with a barteshing.Edb. 1898 J. Baillie Walter Crighton 142:
And opening a door they now got out on to a ledge or steeple barty running round the tower.Edb. 1914 E. Cooper in T.S.D.C. I. 17:
Barty. A battlement. Contraction for bartisan used by boys of George Heriot's Hospital.Edb. 1920 Weekly Scotsman (2 Oct.) 5/2:
The classroom was at the top of one corner of the "barty."
2. (See second quot.)Bnff.2 1933:
I'll need t' pit up a bartizan in the ein o' the byre t' get a place for the meer an' the foal.Mearns 1825 Jam.2:
Bartizan. Any kind of fence, as of stone or wood.
II. v. (See quot.)Bnff. 1866 Gregor D.Bnff. 216:
Bartizan, to fence in a strong, rude manner; to barricade strongly.
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"Bartizan n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bartizan>
