Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1867, 1951-1966
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0]
SCRUMP, v.1, n. Also skrump and by conflation with Scruif, scrumf, scramph, scrunf. Deriv. scrumple, skr-. [skrʌmp]
I. v. To make or become crisp, dry and brittle, esp. of bread in baking (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 164, skrump(le)). Hence skrumpie, scrump(l)it, baked hard and crisp (Fif. 1825 Jam., scrumplit; Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 164; Bnff., Abd. 1969). Also in Eng. dial.Abd. 1867 A. Allardyce Goodwife 12:
An' fan soor scones were nott at Yeel, Or scrumpit bannocks free.
II. n. Anything crisp and hard, esp. of bread (Gregor, skrump(le)). Also in Eng. dial.; a crust, superficial hard layer (Abd. 1931 Abd. Press and Jnl. (11 Feb.), scrumf; Bnff. 1969).Abd. 1951 Buchan Observer (31 July):
If the neeps be kept clear of weeds and have the “scramph”, or crust of soil on the drills, duly broken.Bnff. 1966:
I've seen them harra in the snaa tae brak the hard scrump tae lat it melt or they got the seed sawn.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Scrump v.1, n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/scrump_v1_n>
