Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†TEEM, v.2, n.2
I. v. 1. To work as a team. Hence specif. to work two by two in digging over the soil to form a lazy-bed for potatoes (see quot.).Rs. 1845 Stat. Acc.1 XIV. 131:
The most common mode of turning the ground is by teeming, forming a kind of lazy-beds. At this work two persons are employed, one on each side the ridge, which is seldom in a straight line, collecting the earth; and the earth borrowed in this way makes a proper bed for the seed.
2. With on: (1) to work with great energy and speed.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 191:
They teemt on at the cuttan a' day.
(2) to beat with severity (Gregor).
II. n. With on: a heavy beating (Gregor). Cf. I. 2. (2) above.
[It is uncertain whether all the senses belong to the same word. It has been here treated as specif. or extended usages of Eng. team, a group of people working as a unit, to work in this way. Cf. the somewhat sim. developments of Yoke, q.v.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Teem v.2, n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/teem_v2_n2>
