Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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

OYCE, n. Also oyse. An inlet of the sea, esp. one which is almost cut off by a bar of shingle (Ork. 1866 Edm. Gl., 1929 Marw., Ork. 1964). In dim. form ossag, of the mouth of the Thurso river (†Cai. 1964). [øs]Ork. 1700 J. Wallace Orkney 78:
Kirkwall . . . built upon a pleasant Oyse or Inlet of the Sea.Ork. 1806 P. Neill Tour 7:
At the back of the town, on the west side, there is an extensive salt-water marsh, called the Oyce of Kirkwall.Ork. 1868 D. Gorrie Orkneys 12, 110:
An Oyce or inlet, locally termed the “Peerie Sea.” . . . Oyce, or Ouse, is the name frequently applied in Orkney to an inlet of the sea.Ork. 1905 Orcadian Papers (Charleson) 27:
The Oyce has not always been what it now is, — an arm of the sea at high water and a stretch of mud and sand at low water.