Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1835-1838
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¶SCAUMER, n. A cattle-raider, free-booter, a reiver. Only in Wilson.s.Sc. 1835 Wilson's Tales of the Borders II. 58:
These bags for booty were by no means uncommon in the days of the Border wars, and were called the “scaumer's girnel”, the word scaumer being an old word for free-booter, or cattle-lifter.s.Sc. 1838 Wilsons' Tales of the Borders IV. 268:
As famous as an amazon scaumer, as she was as the Flower of Yarrow.
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"Scaumer n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/scaumer>
