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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

‡SEVENDLE, adj., v. Also savendle, sivendle, sevaandal, sevender, sevennil and deriv. forms sevendible, -able, and erron. serendible. [sə′vɛndl]

I. adj. 1. Strong, firm, securely made, built or fixed (Rxb. 1825 Jam.; Dmf. 1865 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 57). Adv. savandidly, sevaandaly (Ork. 1970).Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
Is the scaffold (wa', etc.) sevendle?Ork. 1929 Old-Lore Misc. IX. ii. 78:
Da muffler wippid savandidly ower is e'en.Uls. 2005:
He made a sevendable job of building that byre.

2. Trustworthy, dependable (Rxb. 1825 Jam., sevennil, 1923 Watson W.-B.).

3. Thorough, out-and-out, severe, extreme (Uls. 1858 Uls. Jnl. Archaeol. V. 352, Ork. 1970, sevendible). Adv. sevendibly, thoroughly.Ork. 1829 J. Malcolm Tales 93:
He got into a sevendable passion.Uls. 1920 J. Logan Ulster in X-Rays 74:
“Sevendibly” seems a terrible word to an outsider, and is an expressive adverb not unlike “awfully,” as “awfully” is used by fashionable young ladies.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
He got a sevendle weetin'.Ork. 1930 Orcadian (13 Feb.):
The heavier stroke, not with the open hand but with the full boxing style — a sevaandal blow.Uls. 1931 Northern Whig (17 Dec.) 10:
For pullin' flax she gave all the girls in the country a sevendable batin' last year.

II. v. To become firm or secure, to set hard, consolidate itself.Kcb. 1946:
He spoke about allowing a piece of farm machinery which had been set in cement to “sevendle”.