Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1775-1835, 1890-1928
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
WARE, n.2, adj. Also war(r), waar (I.Sc.), waur (Sc. 1835 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) IV. 271; Uls. 1953 Traynor), waure (Abd. 1868 G. MacDonald R. Falconer i. xii.). Sc. forms and usages. [wer; wɑr, wǫr. See Awaur.]
I. n. Care, heed. Obs. in Eng. since 15th c. Phr. to tak ware on, to take heed of, beware.Sc. a.1796 J. Farmer Nat. Ballad (1897) II. 253:
I'll plant a stake into the flow, That ploughmen may tak ware o't.
II. adj. Aware, conscious of (Sc. 1808 Jam., Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., waar; Ork. 1929 Marw.; Uls. 1953 Traynor; I.Sc. 1973). Now only arch. in Eng. Derivs. warish, warie (Sc. 1828 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) II. 51), warry, waury [′wɑ:re], wary, cautious. Also adv. Adv. warly, warily, prudently.Sc. 1775 Dick o the Cow in Child Ballads No. 185 xxiii.:
Then Dickie was warr of that auld peat-house, Where there al the night he thought for to ly.Ayr. 1817 D. McKillop Poems 36:
Yet I maun own tho' ne'er sae waury, Sometimes the jade is like to waur me.Slk. 1826 Hogg in Blackwood's Mag. (June) 756:
But ne'er had love a brighter lowe, O light his torches warly.Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 58:
Sandy McNab by some unlucky dint, Was nae waur o' a trap till his feet they fell in't.Abd. 1890 Mod. Sc. Poets (Edwards) XIII. 91:
Sang! I daurna daccle here, Sic things gar us be warish.Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.:
I was waar o'r plukkin.Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 19:
But grapin' warry doon the rin An' makkin' for the awesome din.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Ware n.2, adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/ware_n2_adj>
