Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1824-1832, 1900-1932
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0]
‡LEAM, v.2 Also leem. tr. To take a ripe nut from its husk (Rxb. 1825 Jam.; Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 151); intr. Of a nut: to drop out of its husk when ripe. Also in n.Eng. dial.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 150, 257:
The boys wha used to roam that wud, And gather leaming nits … Awa on the hazley brae down by, Whar the yellow nits are leaming.Kcb. c.1900 J. Matthewson MS. Poems 32:
An' aye frae aff his auld grey croon Fell lumps like nuts a-leemin'.
Hence leam(m)er, leemer, a nut that is ripe and separates easily from its husk (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 62; Rxb. 1825 Jam.). Also in Eng. dial.s.Sc. 1832 Blackwood's Mag. (July) 126:
Hung "with mealy clusters of ripe nuts," which you can crack when you have gathered them, brown leamers every one.Gall. 1932 A. McCormick Galloway 54:
I wad like to ha'e said something nesty to the Stranraer miller, but I'm gled I didna, for his meal's as sweet as a leammer.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Leam v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 11 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/leam_v2>
