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: 1930
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SOLDU, n. Herring feed (see quot.) (Arg. 1936 L. McInnes S. Kintyre 9). [sɔl′du]Arg. 1930:
Hungry, poor herring after spawning feed on the crustacean Nyctiphanes Norvegica. This food is rich and digests and decomposes quickly, leaving the stomachs full of the jet-black eyes of the Nyctiphanes in a half-digested mass — hence the term Soldhu, black sile: the fishermen mistaking these undigested eyes for minute marine organisms.
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"Soldu n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/soldu>
