Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1761, 1822-1837, 1896-1946
[0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0]
CRIB, Cribb, n.1 Used as in Eng., but Sc. has the following extended meanings:
1. A (hen's) coop. Known to Cai.7, Bnff.2, Abd.2, Ags.17 1940.Sc. 1761 Edb. Ev. Courant (11 March):
Hen-house, cribbs for feeding all sorts of fowls.Ags. 1822 Edb. Mag. (Dec.) 658/2:
Its [kitchen dresser's] lowest department is a wooden grating, named the hen's crib, where two or three of these domestic fowls are generally set hatching.Fif. 1896 “G. Setoun” R. Urquhart vi.:
Eggs taken from the “crib” that very morning.Fif. 1946 (per Fif.14):
A'm needin ither twa hen's cribs.
†2. The stomach. Given in Farmer and Henley as 17th cent. Eng. slang.wm.Sc. 1835–37 Laird of Logan I. 82:
Leave some elbow room in your crib — you'll in a' likelihood get bread and cheese after them [porridge].
†3. “A small bed-place boarded up in a recess near the kitchen fire, in which the servants sleep at night and children are often laid in the day” (Sc. a.1873 Grose MS. Add. (C) (E.D.D.)). Cf. Eng. crib, a child's bed.
†4. A bowl of broth, brose, etc. Also in use in Eng. dial. = food (E.D.D.).Rxb. 1825 Jam.2:
Haste ye, and gie me ma . . . crib, Guidwife.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Crib n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/crib_n1>
