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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

OWERSET, v. Also owre-.

1. Sc. forms of Eng. overset, to upset, turn over, now rare (Sh. 1964). [ʌu(ə)r′sɛt]Per. 1766 A. Nicol Poems 99:
He died in nae choleric pet, Nor was his stomach owerset.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 17:
[Melancholy] can clean owreset the senses a'.

2.  To translate.Sc. 1994 Scotsman 15 Jan :
In the sequence "The Ark o the Covenant", Derrick McLure "owersets" the Gaelic of Derick Thomson's original into an aureate and achingly beautiful Scots, marrying the magnificence of Henryson with the lyricism of Goodsir Smith.Sc. 1995 James S. Adam New Verses for an Auld Sang 17:
Tho Gaelic an Scots cum fae ruits at are at odds wi ilk ither, an deep doun there's a gey differ, his screed i Gaelic owresets intil Scots maist wurd for wurd. Sc. 1998 Edinburgh Evening News 21 Mar 10:
The devolution white paper wis owerset an publisht in Scots bi the Scottish Office.Uls. 2003 Belfast News Letter 19 Jul 23:
Noo tha's braw braid an accause wheens o tha wurds bae tae bae gyely aul farrent near haun ivryboadie wud bae haird pit tae owerset hit intil Inglis.Sc. 2004 Herald 6 Nov 7:
The Take o Peter Kinnen, Beatrix Potter, owerset intae Scots by Lynne McGeachie ... will divide opinion: should this most English of children's tales be retold in Scots?

Derivs.: owersetter, a translator; owersettin, A translation. Sc. 1994 Daniel O'Rourke ed. Dream State xxv:
...he not only reminds us of the essential untranslatability of poetry (though he is an accomplished 'owersetter' from other tongues), but also questions wider relationships between the English and Scots. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 12:
An owersettin in Scots o the story bi Italo Svevo (1861-1928).