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.
Quotation dates: 1879-1923
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TROTTER, n. As in Eng., an animal's foot. Sc. †combs.: 1. trotter-board, the treadle of a spinning-wheel; 2. Trotter-roofing, see quot.1. Ags. 1879 G. W. Donald Poems 6:
For here's the very trotter-board, And there's the crook that crankit.2. Ork. 1923 P. Ork. A.S. II. 8:
Before slates came into general use thin flags were sometimes used as a substitute for thatch in the better class of houses; these flags being hung on to the rafters by means of pegs driven through a hole in the flag. The pegs used were frequently the trotter bones of sheep; hence the name "trotter roofing."
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"Trotter n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/trotter>
