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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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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.

DORT, n., v.1, adj.

I. n.

1. Usu. in pl. and with def. art.: ill-humour, the sulks, esp. in phr. to tak(e) the dort(s), to take offence, take the “huff.” Gen.Sc. Also in n.Cy. dial.Sc. 1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage II. xi.:
Mony a time I had to fleech ye oot o' the dorts whan ye was a callant.
Sh. 1933 J. Nicolson Hentilagets 25:
Bit dey aa took da dorts an left her alane.
Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 3:
An' he geed awa' the neest mornin' i' the dorts.
Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 27:
An' sae for fear, he clean sud spoil the sport, Gin anes his shepherdess sud tak the dort.
Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 93:
Syne "drink,"
she says, "will be your doonfaa."
I fair took the dorts at her spite,
thinkin she meant I wis drunk
again, which I wisna, no quite.
m.Sc. 1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood 213:
The Gordons took the dorts — a plague on their thrawn heids.
Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 25:
. . . paughty damsels bred at courts, Wha thraw their mou's, and take the dorts.
Hdg. 1908 J. Lumsden Th' Loudons 255:
By her we were baith tax'd an' schuled. . . . When into dorts she'd lapse!
Lnk. 1832 W. Motherwell Poems 185:
My father says I'm in a pet, my mither jeers at me, And bans me for a dautit wean, in dorts for aye to be.
Rxb. 1892 R. Fairley Teviotside Musings 91:
Nae wonder that I'm in the dort And wae to see them.
Slk. 1829 Hogg Shepherd's Cal. I. 23:
He took the dorts, and never heeded the folk mair than they hadna been there.

2. Sometimes used with Meg as an epithet for a sulky or bad-tempered woman. Rarely with other feminine names.Sc. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Shepherd Act I. Sc. i. in Poems (1728):
She scour'd awa, and said, What's that to you? Then fare ye well, Meg Dorts, and e'en's ye like, I careless cry'd.
Sc. 1820 Scott Monastery xxviii.:
There are the keys then, Mysie Dorts.
Sc. 1824 Scott St Ronan's W. I. i.:
Meg Dods, or Meg Dorts, as she was popularly termed, on account of her refractory humours.
Ayr. 1823 Galt Entail xxxiii.:
But e'en's ye like, Meg Dorts, as “Patie and Rodger” says.
Dmf. 1817 W. Caesar Poems 87:
She sings of comrades wha mair dear are: Her ain Pate, wi' his Meg dorts.
Rxb. 1881 W. Brockie in J. Younger Autobiog. 369 Note:
“E'en's ye like, Meg Dorts!” is a common exclamation, when a young woman gets sulky, or refuses to do something.

II. v.

1. intr. To sulk, to take offence, to become petulant (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh.11, Ork.2, Cai.9 1949; Crm. 1911 D. Finlayson W.-L.; Ags. 1825 Jam.2; Fif.16 1949; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., obsol.). Ppl.adj. dorted, -it, pettish, ill-humoured; vbl.n. dortin', sulkiness.Sc. 1820 A. Sutherland St Kathleen III. 191:
I ken weel eneugh what lassies like, an' winna tak fleg although ye sid dort for a hale ook.
Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 24:
For days on en' she'd dort an' sulk.
Ork. 1952 R. T. Johnston Stenwick Days (1984) 22:
" ... Onywey his son's comin' efter me blid, so dinno stend there dortin' ony langer, bit go an' git me gun."
Cai.4 c.1920:
'E bairn's dorted because she didna get a piece.
Abd. 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 333:
They maun be toyed wi' and sported, Or else ye're sure to find them dorted.
Fif. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 87:
Dancin' on the flow'ry mead, They hae nae spleen nor dortin'.
Fif. 1873 J. W. Wood Ceres Races 11:
But here, my hearties, is the sort For Jenny gin she seeks to dort.
Peb. 1805 J. Nicol Poems I. 151:
But yet he coudna gain her heart, She was sae vera dortit, An' shy that night.
Gsw. 1850 (per Abd.27):
“The dortit bairn gets leave to fast Or sup the ithers' leavin's at the last” — when a plate was not promptly emptied.
Rxb. a.1860 J. Younger Autobiog. (1881) 369:
At this he was so dorted that when William Aitkin produced the bill for payment he refused it.

2. tr. and absol. Fig. of a bird in regard to its nest: to forsake.Ork.1 1928:
The teewhup dorted her eggs.
Ork. 1940 (per Abd.27):
Whan we fand the nest the sinloo hid dortit.

III. adj. Sulky, peevish.Edb. 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet i.:
She's a kind word an' a dort ane, She's a lang leg an' a short ane.
Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 55:
Awake and dinna be sae dort, What tho' ye get nae siller for't.

[Of obscure origin. Dort, to sulk, is found in O.Sc. 1620 and dorts (take the), c.1637. The derivs. dortie (from c.1590) and dortynes, 1513, are recorded earlier.]

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"Dort n., v.1, adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dort_n_v1_adj>

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