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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: 1874-1899

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†SHOOI, n. Also shooy, schooi; sjui (Jak.). The Arctic skua, Stercorarius parasiticus (Sh. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XII. 197, 1908 Jak. (1928), 1951 Shetland Folk-Bk. 32). [′ʃui]Sh. 1874 H. L. Saxby Birds Sh. 157:
There is not an ill that bird-flesh is heir to, which the Shooi cannot convince you he is afflicted with.Sh. 1899 Evans & Buckley Fauna Shet. 196:
The Shoois are compelled to choose their quarters at some little distance from those of the Bonxie.

[Jak. suggests deriv. from Norw. dial. tjuvlo, id., < tjuv, a thief, from the bird's parasitical habits. Lockwood Zeitschrift für Anglistik III. 280 thinks the orig. form of the word to be *kjói which became in Faer. kjo(gv)i, very sim. in pronunciation to Faer. tjóv-, a thief, and hence the transference of form and meaning to the latter. But there are various phonological difficulties. There is no connection with Skooie.]

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"Shooi n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 10 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/shooi>

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