Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1873-1952
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FEYNESS, n. Also feiness (Jak.), fiyness (Sh. 1898 Sh. News (24 Sept.)).
1. A feeling of impending death, an atmosphere of doom.Mry. 1873 J. Brown Round Table Club 254:
She wis a bonnie lassie — ower bonnie tae live lang. There wis a feyness aboot her.
Phr.: feyness notion, an impression, an idea, a feeling approaching certainty.m.Lth.1 1952:
I've a feyness notion the buiks are in the dresser drawer.
2. Craziness, mad behaviour.Fif. 1900 “S. Tytler” Jean Keir xiv.:
Regarding the young laird as having reached the last stage of “feyness” and “giteness”.
3. The apparition of an absent person, supposed to portend his death, a wraith (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Sh.10 1951).Sh. 1886 “G. Temple” Britta 99:
A ook gone this vairy dy faither saw his feyness in da dagset.Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 162:
A person likely to die was said to be fey, and a gaenfore or feyness was a prelude of death.Sh. 1949 New Shetlander No. 14. 12:
He has to face feynesses and ghosts, witches and ferry-folk and trows.
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"Feyness n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 1 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/feyness>
