Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND

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: 1864

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†TWIG, v.² 1. To put cross-ropes on the thatch of a house (Slk. 1825 Jam.). Hence twig-rape, a cross-rope put on the thatch of a house (Id.).

2. To hold in, contain.Per. 1864 R. M. Fergusson Village Poet (1897) 140:
An' canna comprehend, O Linn, how ever Your narry shops can twig this mighty river.

[Orig. uncertain. The meanings may derive from different words. 1. suggests an extended usage of Eng. †twig, to bind with twigs or withies, though this is rare and not evidenced for Sc. 2. may be a nonce usage based on the double meaning of comprehend, which in one of its senses might be rendered by slang Eng. twig.]

Twig v.2

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"Twig v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/twig_v2>

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