Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1937

[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0]

SWARDIE, n. The cuttle fish, Sepia loligo.Fif. 1937 Scotsman (6 March) 17:
The old name for them in the coastal villages of West Fife was "swardies," or sometimes "ink-fish," and they were used. when cut up into bits, as bait for catching skate and cod.

[Appar. to be associated with Eng., L.Ger. swart, Du. zwart, black, swarthy, though the precise formation is uncertain, phs. a jocular usage of a dim. form of naut. Eng. ‡swart, a negro, a black man, from the inky liquid the squid emits. Cf. Ger. blackfisch, id.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Swardie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/swardie>

26144

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: