Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CLAIK GOOSE, CLACK-, Cleck-, n. comb. The barnacle, a species of wild goose, Branta leucopsis (Ork. 1798 W. Clouston in Ork. Parishes (ed. J. S. Clouston 1927) 132). Also cleck-goose (w.Sc. 1703 M. Martin Descr. Western Islands 357) and sometimes simply claik, clake (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sc., e.Lth. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 149). Cf. Clatter Goose.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xliv.:
Skirling Gaelic, like sea-maws and clack-geese before a storm.Fif. 1710 R. Sibbald Hist. Fife and Kinross (1803) 136, Note:
It was considered as no mean effort of an enlightened mind to disbelieve, that Claik Geese, as they were then called, were not really vegetable productions.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Claik Goose n. comb.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/claik_goose>
