Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

DEMENTIT, Demintit, Deminted ppl.adj. Sc. form of Eng. demented: used more often in Sc. in the weakened sense of highly excited, worked up, “daft”; also “stupid, nonsensical” (Sc. 1825 Jam.²; Cai. 1905 E.D.D. Suppl., Ayr. 1935 (per Abd.²⁷); dementit Sh., Ork., Bnff., Ags., Fif., Edb., Arg., Gsw., Ayr., Rxb. 2000s).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 21:
There wis twa-three Police kin o lads deavin inti the driver, an him near diminted; there wis Police chappin at ilki door an rinnin up ilki pend. Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlix.:
A throu'-the-muir that dreeve aul' Peter naarhan' dementit.Abd. 1987 Donald Gordon The Low Road Hame 12:
Gweed save me fae a wife like thon,
Twad drive me fair dementit: . . . Abd. 1991 Douglas Kynoch in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 86:
Thalia, she was scraichin
Like a half-demintit hen.
Fut set the lassie lauchin
Only her an Clootie ken.Abd. 1995 Flora Garry Collected Poems 26:
We nivvir hid to flee demintit
Tull the pier-heid,
Nor harken tull the heerican at midnicht,
Caal wi dreid. Ags. 1915 V. Jacob Songs of Angus 47:
My heid's dementit an' my feet's the same.Dundee 1991 Ellie McDonald The Gangan Fuit 20:
I went tae watch a marathon last week.
Near twa thousand puir dementit craiturs,
ilk ain hauf nakit, forby thrie waiters,
Santy Claus, seiven fairies an a freakm.Sc. 1870 J. Nicholson Idylls 126:
We've braw sons an' dochters, oor Maggie and me, But sae daft aboot cookies, dementit wi' tea, It's oot o' the question for me to get fou.em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 193:
'She was a witch and a hure. And dementit tae. I wouldna credit muckle o whit she had tae say.'Lnk. 1724 P. Walker Life A. Peden Pref. xxii.:
Of late they have published some wild, Enthusiastick, deluded, demented, nonsensical Pamphlets.