Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1721
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†BUNG, adj. Tipsy. Given as Eng. slang in Farmer and Henley, but not admitted as St.Eng.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 359:
What Soger when with Wine he's bung Did e'er complain he had been dung?
Hence bungie, adj., "fuddled; another low word; but not expressing so great a degree of intoxication as [Bung-fu']" (w.Sc. 1825 Jam.2). Also found in Bdf. dial. in form bungi (E.D.D.).
[Bung = the stopper of a cask or barrel, appears first in Eng. c.1440 in Promp. Parv. (N.E.D.) and in O.Sc. c.1500–c.1512 (D.O.S.T.). It is poss. that bung = tipsy, may be a reduced form of Bung-fu', adj., 2, intoxicated, but the earlier date for Bung would seem to make this uncertain.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Bung adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bung_adj>
