Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

WHEEZLE, v., n. Also wheasle, whesel; weezle (Kcd. 1950); whaisle, whaizle, whezzle; whaz(z)le, -el, whaazle, whauzle, whasle; whassel(l), whaussell (Sh.); whoz(z)le, whosle; whuizle (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); and reduplic. form whassl-whiezl (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.). The freq. forms are chiefly Sc. and n.Eng. [ʍi:zl, ʍɑ:zl, ʍǫ:zl, ʍezl; Sh. ʍɑsl. See etym. note.]

I. v. To wheeze, to breathe hard with a dry rasping sound, as in asthma or catarrh, to pant (Sc. 1808 Jam., whaisle, whosle, a.1813 A. Murray Hist. Eur. Langs. (1823) I. 452; Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 253 whausle; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Fif., Lth., Ayr. 1923–6 Wilson, wheezle). Gen.Sc. Also in n.Eng. dial. Freq. in ppl.adj., vbl.n. wheezlin.Abd. 1754 R. Forbes Journal 28:
Ye wou'd hae hard the peer bursen belchs whoslin like a horse i' the strangle.
Ayr. 1786 Burns Auld Farmer's Salutation x.:
But sax Scotch mile thou try't their mettle, An' gart them whaizle.
Dmf. 1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun 42:
Though whozzling sair, and cruppen down.
Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry 150:
Down frae the sky as fast's he can Comes whazelin' and hurlin'.
Lnk. a.1832 W. Watt Poems (1860) 190:
Glee'd, wheezlin' Bauldy Lawson.
Ags. 1850 A. Laing Wayside Flowers 80:
He . . . hurklit down, an' hostit syne, An' whaisl't a' forfoughten.
Edb. 1876 J. Smith Archie and Bess 12:
Listen to the wheezlin' in its puir wee breast.
Sh. 1927 Shetland Times (3 March):
Da whassellin is geen trow da night.
Abd. 1963 J. C. Milne Poems 139:
A whazzlin in ma breist.

Comb. wheasle-reed, a reed pipe.w.Sc. 1929 R. Crawford In Quiet Fields 37:
We heard, doon Ghyll, October blaw On wheasle-reed an' fisslein'.

II. n. A wheeze, hard rough breathing (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Dmf. 1917 J. L. Waugh Cute McCheyne 171; Sh., ne.Sc. 1974); also in n.Eng. dial.; in pl. with def. art.: asthma, bronchitis (wm.Sc. a.1859 Poets and Poetry Scot. (Wilson 1877) III. 174; Ork., n., em.Sc. (a), wm.Sc., Wgt. 1974). Derivs. ¶wheezloch, in horses: wheeziness, broken-windedness; wheezley, wheezy, asthmatic.Sc. c.1700 in R. Chambers Sc. Songs (1829) I. 302:
She had the fiercie and the fleuk, The wheezloch and the wanton yeuk.
Slk. 1822 Hogg Perils of Man (1972) xx.:
My voice went away to a perfect wheezle.
Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 387:
Those [horses] which breathe quick, which have a kind of asthmatic wheezle.
Ags. 1827 Justiciary Reports (1829) 95:
She gave her them, ‘because she had such a whazle with her breath.'
Edb. 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie ix.:
Close to the ribs ye hirsel in Wi' clochrin' whaizle.
Arg. 1914 J. M. Hay Gillespie i. viii.:
Look at her, the wrunkled poke o' whesels.
Per. 1895 I. Maclaren Auld Lang Syne 119:
Nae whasle at a' the day.
Kcb. 1897 A. J. Armstrong R. Rankine 21:
As wheezley as a twenty year auld tip.
Lth. 1925 C. P. Slater Marget Pow 198:
It was efter Tit . . . got the better of the wheezles that the Baby cam' forrit.
Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xvii.:
Lattin oot 'e maist yaafu whaazles an' skryaachs 'at iver ye hard.

[Freq. form of Wheeze. The variant vowel forms represent imit. alterations of the sound.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Wheezle v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/wheezle>

29314

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: