Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1721-1724, 1803-1934, 1993
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PRINKLE, v., n.1 Also pringle. [prɪŋkl]
I. v. 1. intr. To have the sensation of “pins and needles”, to tingle, thrill, prickle (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Kcb. 1900; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Bnff. Abd., s.Sc. 1966). Vbl.n. prinkling, a tingling sensation. Adj. prinkly, prickly, tingling (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai).Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 396:
I'll gar your Daup dirle. Footnote: prinkle, smart.Sc. 1803 Scots Mag. (May) 339:
My blude ran prinklin through my veins.Sc. a.1821 St Andrews Cit. (26 March 1938) 9:
It's a kind o' weariness that maks me dizzy at times, and a kind o' prinkling about my stomach.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 178:
Its vera sough did freeze their bluid, And on their scalps, that birsy stood, Garr'd prinkle ilka hair.Slk. 1827 Hogg Tales (1874) 409:
Every bit o' his body, outside and in, prinkled as it had been brunt wi' nettles.Gsw. 1863 H. Macdonald Poems 88:
That ilka nervelet prinklin' plays, And thrills the heart.Dmf. 1875 A. Anderson Two Angels 163:
An' my bluid ran prinklin frae heid to fit As I heard its eerie knell.Ayr. 1897 H. Ochiltree Out of her Shroud viii.:
Mona felt the blood. hot and prinkling, mount to her cheek.Bnff. 1927 Banffshire Jnl. (15 March) 3:
Her wily glance Has pierced through and through the heart And plagues me wi' the prinklin' o't.Ags. 1993 Mary McIntosh in Joy Hendry Chapman 74-5 112:
He pit his ee tae the gaig. It wis the skimmer o a caunle, the low gien smaa licht. The har on the back o his craig prinkled at the pewlin soon cummin oot o that bleck pit.
2. tr. To cause to tingle, to set pricking or thrilling; to jab with a pin (Per. 1966). Deriv. prinkler. a pin (Sc. 1930).Abd. 1868 W. Shelley Wayside Flowers 243:
Her saft cheek keeps prinklin mine.Kcd. 1934 Gibbon & MacDiarmid Sc. Scene 185:
He said the old, empty words as though they were new and bit and pringled.
3. To twinkle, glitter, coruscate, sparkle; of a boiling pot: to bubble, simmer (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.).Sc. 1724 Ramsay Ever Green I. 222:
Starrie gleims, Quhilk prinkled and twinkled Brichtly beyont compair.wm.Sc. 1854 Laird of Logan 450:
To see the kail-pot prinkling on the head as gin lammer-beeds had been sawn on't.
II. n. A tingling sensation, a prickle, thrill (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., freq. in pl.).Kcd. 1932 L. G. Gibbon Sunset Song (1937) 144:
Not a pringle of anger she felt, just smiled and said Wouldn't you, now, Mistress Munro?
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"Prinkle v., n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/prinkle_v_n1>
