Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1745, 1843-1925
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ECHTSOME, Eichtsome, Eightsome, n. A group of eight persons or things, gen. attrib. in reference to a certain dance sett, esp. a reel; now used absol. for the reel itself. Gen.Sc. See also Auchtsome.Sc. 1745 Chrons. Atholl and Tullibardine Families II. 481:
I am to be in the “Eightsome Minuet” if I be at the Ball.Sc. 1843 Blackwood's Mag. (May) 615:
The eightsome-reel of the heptarchy became the pas-seul of the kingdom of England.Abd. 1875 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 246:
They . . . caper through the “eightsome” figure with louder “hooch-hoochs”! than before.Bwk. 1897 R. M. Calder Poems 122:
When eight-some reels, an'-heel-an'-toe, made time flee fast awa'.Sc. 1925 Scots Mag. (March) 472:
An aul' fiddler . . . timmered up the “Flooers o' Edinburgh”, an' “Petronella”, an' polkies an' fowersome reels, ay, an' an eichtsome, an' braw seteeshes, an' a Gran' Mairch at the aff-start.
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"Echtsome n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/echtsome>
