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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HECHT, v., n. Also hight, he(i)ght, ¶heckt, ¶heyct (Sc. 1732 Clerk of Penicuik MSS. (Record Office)). Pa.t. and pa.p. as pres. Also †haight, and wk. form †hechtit. [hɛçt, hɪçt]

I. v. 1. tr. To promise, vow, pledge, offer (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Slk. 1956); intr. To make promises, mostly poet. Vbl.n. heghtin, a promise.Sc. c.1700 Lady G. Baillie in Orpheus Caled. (1726) 40:
He said he saw nathing so bonny as me, He haight me baith Rings and monie bra things, And were na' my Heart light I wad dye.
Sc. 1733 Orpheus Caled. (Thomson) II. 110:
And Willy heght to marry me, Gin e'er he marry'd ony.
Ayr. 1786 Burns Halloween xxiii.:
They hoy't out Will, wi' fair advice; They hecht him some fine braw ane.
Rxb. 1805 A. Scott Poems 86:
Whan Johnnie cam and heght me kind.
Lth. 1825 Jam.:
Your mother hechtit me a web this year.
Sc. 1832 Whistle-Binkie (Ser. 1) 60:
Madge is hecht to Adam Glen, An' soon we'll hae a wedding.
Hdg. 1908 J. Lumsden Th' Loudons 220:
Had “Samil” been slee he'd hae hechtit thee less.
Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B. 167:
“Hecht him weel, and haud him sae,” = Promise him well, but do not fulfil it.
Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 10:
Thro' slaps he breenged that hecht fu' weel, But fanklt on the leg or heel.

2. To prophesy, forecast; of death: to threaten.Ayr. 1786 Burns To Dr Mackenzie 10–11:
If Death, then, wi' skaith then Some mortal heart is hechtin.
Hdg. 1885 J. Lumsden Rhymes & Sk. 219:
I'm maybe wrang o' what may be; But something, Athie, loors on me — That hechts death's comin' blow!
Kcb.4 1900:
A person speaking of an accomplished fact might say “I hecht it wad sae turn oot.”

3. To implore, bid.Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 43:
An' sair the bonny bairnies grat, An' hecht her aye to bide.

4. To call oneself, be called, to have or bear the name. Now obs. in Eng. exc. in arch. pa.t. and p. hight.Abd. 1739 Caled. Mag. (Sept. 1788) 500:
His Cousin was a bierly Swank, A stier young man heght Robb.
Sc. 1795 Outlaw Murray in Child Ballads No. 305 A. vii.:
Then spak the erle hight Hamilton.
Sc. 1846 Anon. Muckomachy 8:
Him followed . . . ae vile lurdon, Height Johnie Gordon.
Gall. 1885 Bards Gall. (Harper 1889) 50:
Nae ane came in reach o't got aff but a scaur, An' they hecht it the Galloway flail.

II. n. A promise, engagement (Lth. 1808 Jam.). Common in phr. if aa hechts haud or ¶hit if all comes true.Sc. 1705 Hist. MSS. Comm. Report (Mar and Kellie MSS.) 235:
If all hechts had you and I will live more at London than we expected.
Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 210:
If all Heights hitt. If what I propos'd be attain'd; if what was promised be accomplished.
Sc. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Shep. ii. iv.:
Be blyth for silly Heghts, for Trifles grieve.
Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 28:
The first time I to town or merket gang; Whilk an' hights had will be e're it be lang.
Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick ii.:
“Ay,” says I; “if a' hechts haud, it's a' richt.”
Sc. 1936 J. G. Horne Flooer o' Ling 46:
The firstlin pruif O' God's ain gracious hecht.
Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 13:
Mebbe aa this cuid but connach braith.
There's monie a gow gaed aifter a wile,
fu-shair o't, yet fun', disjaskit, sair daith,
no hecht o life.

[O.Sc. hecht, v., to promise, vow, undertake, to be called, from 1375, n., a promise, from a.1400; Mid.Eng. he(g)hte, to be called, to promise, a past-present v. from O.E. hēht, pa.t. of hātan, to bid, command, call, be called, promise.]

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"Hecht v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hecht>

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