Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
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: 1897-1901, 1959-1967
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0]
THWITE, v. Also twe(e)t, twi(e)t, twaet (Sh.), tweyt (Cai.). To cut, pare or trim, esp. with a knife, to whet, whittle (Sh. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XII. 203; Cai. 1905 E.D.D.; Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), 1914 Angus Gl.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein). Now only dial. in Eng. The commoner Sc. form is White, q.v. Vbl.n. tweytin, gen. in pl., wood chips or shavings (Cai. 1905 E.D.D.).Sh. 1897 Shetland News (24 July):
A placid roadman “tweetin” the grass with a scythe. Sh. 1900 Shetland News (10 Nov.):
Wi' dy knife twaetin' a heft.Sh. 1901 Shetland News (9 March):
Grippin' me joktaleg begood ta twet aff o' da corner o' ane o' da sides o' da klibber.Cai. 1959 John o' Groat Liter. Soc. 9:
The road metal breakers coming for knapper hammer shafts — shafts which were twited down to a thin ribbon in the middle to give the maximum of “spring”.Sh. 1967 New Shetlander No. 81. 13:
An I wid laek ta hae as weel a bit o wid at I can twaet.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Thwite v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/thwite>
