Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1721-1736, 1818, 1883-1915
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WHILLY, v. Also whully, whillow. To cheat, gull, esp. by means of wheedling (Sc. 1808 Jam.), to cajole. Now liter.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 208:
They . . . printing it like their vile Trash, The honest Lieges whilly'd.Sc. 1736 Ramsay Proverbs (1776) 79:
Wise men may be whilly'd with wiles.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xii.:
Let me alane for whillying an advocate.Lnk. 1883 A. R. Fisher Poems 17:
Some think wi' ease they can me whillow oot o' my shilling.Gsw. 1915 20th C. Sc. Verse (Robb 1932) 41:
She kent the wey to whilly him, an' lead his he'rt awa'.
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"Whilly v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/whilly>
