Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
‡EARN-BLEATER, Earn-Bliter, n. comb. Also yern-blit(t)er. [(j)ɛrn-′blitər, -′blɪtər]
1. A name given in ne.Sc. to the common snipe, Capella gallinago (Abd. 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems, Gl., earn-bliter, yern-blitter; Abd.2 1942). Cf. Bleater, Blitter, n.1, Bog, n.3, v.2, and Heather Bleat(er).Abd. c.1750 R. Forbes Jnl. from London (1755) 35:
An' the neist mornin they had me up afore the sky, an' I believe afore the levrick or yern-bliter began to sing, and hurl'd me awa to Portsmouth.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 54:
The earn bleater, or the muirfowls cra', Was like to melt her very heart awa'.Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin iv.:
I never saw onything waur than my ain shadow, nor heard ought mair frichtsome than the scream o' an earn-bleater.
2. The curlew, Numenius arquata (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.; Abd. 1900 E.D.D.).
[Origin uncertain. May be derived from O.E. hæferblæte, snipe, lit “goat-bleater,” though the phonology is obscure.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Earn-bleater n. comb.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/earnbleater>
