Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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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: 1773, 1875-1887
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†DIRK, adj., v. Also derk.
1. adj. Dark.Abd. 1875 G. Macdonald Malcolm III. iii.:
She may lat a streak o' licht oot o' her dirk lantren oonawaurs.
2. v. To go surreptitiously, slink; to lurk, lie hidden. Sometimes with in. Also durk (Edb. 1801 J. Thomson Poems 184).Sc. 1887 Jam. s.v. Dark:
Derkin in a den, and dirkit in a den, are expressions still used by boys while playing at those games in which hiding-places or dens are used; and by derkin they mean hiding, lurking, lying concealed.Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 71:
Till at the lang-run death dirks in, To birze his saul ayont his skin.Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 90:
Sic be their fa' wha dirk thir ben In blackest Business no their ain.
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"Dirk adj., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 4 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dirk>
