Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
RUCK, n., v. Also †rowke; rook. Dims. ruckie, rookie, rukey. [rʌk; Rs. ruk]
I. n. 1. A stack of hay or corn of a standard shape (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.; ne., m. and s.Sc. 1968). Also in n.Eng. dial.Ayr. 1700 Arch. and Hist. Coll. Ayr & Wgt. IV. 197:
Three rowkes of hay taken out of his yeard.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 3:
Behind a Ruck Met honest Toop and snaking Buck.Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 83:
Our rucks fu' thick are stackit i' the yard.Dmf. 1817 W. Caesar Poems 75:
Some night, when the moon's clear shining, He will gar them lead a ruck.Slk. 1899 C. M. Thomson Drummeldale 96:
Twae rucks to pit up i' the meeda.Rxb. 1917 Kelso Chronicle (9 March) 4:
Even when the ruck is thatched afresh every autumn.Abd. 1965 Press and Jnl. (30 Dec.):
So and so's rucks maun be afa blaadit.
Combs.: (1) ruck foun, -foon, a circular foundation of stones or the like on which a stack is built (ne.Sc., em.Sc.(a), sm.Sc. 1968); (2) ruck heid, the tapering top of a stack (Id.); (3) ruck stale, the wooden platform on which a stack is built (Kcb. 1950). See Stale, n.1; (4) ruck tow, the rope used to bind the thatch on a stack (ne.Sc., Per. 1968).(1) Abd. 1920 C. Murray Country Places 1:
An' roon the ruck foun's wi' the lave o' the loons Played “Takie” by licht o' the meen.Abd. 1963 J. C. Milne Poems 18:
Nae rottan in yer ruck-foun!(2) Wgt. 1804 R. Couper Poetry I. 188:
The carle sees the last ruck-head hapt in baith safe and braw.Uls. 1901 S. F. Bullock Ir. Pastorals 121:
Shouted I from the ruck-head.(4) Bnff. 1931 Banffshire Jnl. (21 April) 5:
The ruck-tow huds it sauf an' soon!
2. A small temporary stack of hay erected in the field to allow the hay to dry before being built into a more permanent stack (Uls. 1929; e.Rs.1 1929, rookie; Cai., Per., w.Lth., wm., sm. and s.Sc. 1968).s.Sc. 1847 H. S. Riddell Poems 27:
The froth shone white in ilka syke, Rowed roun' like little ruckies.
3. A heap or pile of any material (Bnff., Abd. 1968). Also in Eng. dial.; specif. a small heap of peats set up to dry; transf. in phr. the haill ruck, the whole lot, a person's all (Rxb. 1825 Jam.).Abd. 1898 J. M. Cobban Angel of Covenant xxxii.:
Out of all this worthless ruck of chaff.Bnff. 1918 M. Symon Wir Roup 1:
An Wasties steed on gaird aside A ruck o' aul' lum hats.Bnff. 1957 Banffshire Jnl. (23 July):
The peats hed tae be set on their eyns, wi' three tae form a sma' hooycan or ‘ruckie' wi' een pitten on the tap tae haud them thegither.
II. v. 1. To pile up, stack up, to build hay, corn, etc. into a stack (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 230; Ork., ne.Sc., Per., wm., sm. and s.Sc. 1968). Also in Eng. dial. Hence rucker, a stack-builder.Sc. 1703 Foulis Acct. Bk. (S.H.S.) 329:
The ruckers of the hay.Sc. 1720 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 156:
When Autumn's Stores are ruck'd up in the Yard.Abd. 1729 Third S.C. Misc. II. 136:
The fairest grain is . . . mow'd, cut, win cok'd and ruck'd the same way as hay.Slk. 1744 Session Papers, Emmond v. Magistrates Selkirk (19 June) 2:
[He] past by the Deponent and a Neighbour Servant, as they were rucking Pease.Slk. 1899 C. M. Thomson Drummeldale 95:
They hev a lot o' hey lyin', and Ise warran' they'll be keen to get it ruckit afore the rain comes on.
2. Of hay, etc.: to bulk or swell in the stack (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 230; Kcb. 1968).
[Norw. ruka, a heap, a stack, a fem. ablaut variant of O.N. hraukr, a heap, cogn. with O.E. hrēac, a rick. The word is also found in Mid.Eng. and mod. Eng. dial. and the form rook [ruk] and poss. rowk could derive directly from O.N. hraukr in certain dialects.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Ruck n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/ruck>
