Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

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.

WOW, n., v.¹ Also wowe. [wʌu]

I. n. 1. A howl, a deep-throated call or cry, esp. of a dog, a bark (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 212; I., ne.Sc., Ags., Fif., Lth. 1974); a hoot.Abd. 1794 Sc. N. & Q. (Ser. 2) VI. 183:
The horn't oulet gae a wowe Abeen my head.Kcd. 1830 J. Grant Kcd. Traditions 47:
They stirr'd a fierce fire an' croon'd a strange sang, Wi' mony a yelp an' wow.

2. A nickname given to the bell of the old church of Ruthven, now united in the parish of Cairnie in Aberdeenshire, deriving from a story of a half-wit who called it such on hearing it toll at a funeral as if expressing its grief (Bnff. 1974). The story dates from c.1800. See J. F. S. Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 410 sqq.Abd. 1864 Good Words 157:
In imitation of the booming of the old bell, which was still tolled at funerals, he had given it the name of the Wow.

II. v. To howl, bark, bay (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh., ne.Sc. 1974). Also in n.Eng. dial. Vbl.n., ppl.adj. wowan, -in.Mry. 1806 R. Jamieson Ballads I. 234:
The wolf wow'd hideous on the hill.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 212:
The wowan it he keepit a' nicht wee sair teeth.Bnff. 1880 J. F. S. Gordon Chrons. Keith 414:
He at once formed a strong attachment for the Bell, which he said was sorry, and ‘wowed' sair for his mither.