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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.

WAFF, v.¹, n.¹ Also waf, wauf(f), wawff, waaf; irreg. whaff (Sc. 1834 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1856) IV. 97; Ags. 1880 J. E. Watt Poet. Sk. 116). [wɑf, wǫf]

I. v. 1. (1) tr. To wave, cause to move to and fro with a regular motion, to wag (Sc. 1808 Jam.; em. and wm.Sc., Dmf. 1973). Also in n.Eng. dial. With it as cogn. accus. in 1807 quot., to sway in dancing, to dance.Rnf. 1807 R. Tannahill Poems (1900) 203:
Sic hippin' an' skippin' An' springin' an' flingin', I'se wad that there's nane in the lallands can waff it!Dmf. 1863 R. Quinn Heather Lintie 72:
Aff they set on tiptae flicht, Waffin' their wee bit wings wi' micht.Wgt. 1877 “Saxon” Gall. Gossip 24:
Betty got wild and waffed her arms about her head.Lnk. 1902 A. Wardrop Hamely Sk. 159:
Liftin a scarlet cloth aff the sacramental table, waffin't roon his heid.Bnff. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 81:
His tail he aya wafft, he flailt wi' his han.Sc. 1951 Scots Mag. (Feb.) 410:
She waffed the widdy roon an roon.

(2) intr., to flutter, flap, to sway from side to side (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Uls. c.1840 W. Lutton Montiaghisms (1924), 1953 Traynor; I.Sc., Ags., w.Lth., Lnk., Wgt. 1973); to wave the hand in salutation, to give a friendly wave of the hand.Slk. 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake (1874) 16:
And the laibies of the auld manis cote War wauffing in the wynde.Sc. 1829 E. Logan Restalrig ix.:
Ye'll see them on the gallows-tree, waffing about in the wind.Ayr. 1869 J. Stirrat Poems 41:
On sportive wing, I aft cam' waffin'.Knr. 1891 H. Haliburton Ochil Idylls 33:
She comes! the waffin' o' her wings Wi' music fills the air.Sc. 1923 D. Macalister Echoes 167:
I'll come oot to cry bonallies, Ye'll waff back sae crouse.Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 23:
For a' his aches an' waffin' duds.

2. (1) tr. and absol. To set (air, etc.) in motion; also fig.; to direct a current of air at, to fan (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 69; Sh., ne., m.Sc. 1973).Sc. 1835 Wilson's Tales of the Borders I. 303:
Though a bird waffed it in my lugs wi' its wings.Ayr. 1855 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage (1892) 190:
Waffing her wan face wi' a claith.Lnk. 1862 D. Wingate Poems 63:
The cool air in his face some waff.Lnk. 1893 T. Stewart Among the Miners 39–40:
It was full of gas from roof to pavement …. As I had some distance to go for a fireman, I had it cleared by “waffin.”Kcb. 1901 R. Trotter Gall. Gossip 335:
Nane o' thae things could be dune withoot the minister tae waff an odour o' sanctity ower the ploy.Sc. 1929 Gallovidian 77:
To waff oot ower the wuds a spell O' halie memory.

(2) intr. Of the wind or a current of air: to blow, waft (m.Sc. 1973).Dmf. 1898 T. Murray Frae the Heather 207:
Whaur free and halesome breezes waff.Ayr. 1920 D. Cuthbertson Poems of West 59:
A fuff o' blazin' heat Comes waffin' against my face.Bnff. 1927 E. S. Rae Hansel Fae Hame 24:
The waffin' wins' o' Aprile.

3. In gen.: (1) tr. To set in motion, to sweep, drive, scatter with a flapping or waving motion (Sh. 1973).Edb. 1844 J. Ballantine Miller viii.:
See his blue bonnet wawffs aff the snaw.Dmf. 1874 R. Reid Moorland Rhymes 54:
I'll be waft nae mair ajee By a' the charms o' cheek or ee.Per. 1895 R. Ford Tayside Songs 121:
She cried on her mither to wauf it awa', Wi' mony a writhe an' maen.Lnk. 1909 W. Wingate Poems (1919) 70:
[Sleep will] waff ye to the mornin' sky.

(2) intr. To move in a swift flapping manner, to go with a flutter, to flit. Also in Yks. dial.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry 199:
Strenkellin', a' round, the fechtar's faces, Wi' its out-waffin' water.Rnf. 1828 Paisley Mag. 13:
A figure waffed past him, and shot from the room.Gall. 1902 A. E. Maxwell Lilts 50:
The bee that murmurin' o'er the heath Waffs bye upon the eve's soft breath.

II. n. 1. (1) A flapping, waving movement, a flutter (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1953 Traynor; Sh., Cai., w.Lth., Wgt. 1973). Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1766 Caled. Mercury (25 Aug.) 407:
A soldier, by a sudden waff of the sail, was thrown overboard.Sc. 1831 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1856) III. 177:
The repulse o' neglect, or even o' a waff o' the haun to be awa wi' theirsels.Fif. 1841 C. Gray Lays 12:
The last waff o' his weary wing.Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 106:
The waff o' winter's hand the blear'd sunshine gaed thro'.Kcb. 1885 A. J. Armstrong Friend and Foe xxii.:
I'll be doon in a waff o' yer han'.Kcb. 1901 R. Trotter Gall. Gossip 107:
The waff o' their wylie-coat tails.Ayr. 1913 G. Cunningham Verse 71:
I heard abune me in the air A waff o' wings.

(2) A signal made by waving (Ork. 1845 Stat. Acc.² XV. 96, waaf); a banner, flag (Ork. 1973).Ayr. 1825 A. Crawford Tales Grandmother II. 137:
A band of streamers displaying divers devices of their profession, with painted waffs whereon was written, in large letters, “By permission.”Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 128:
Sheu t'oucht that he a waff wad see.Gall. 1902 A. E. Maxwell Lilts 11:
Wi' a waff she just ga'ed when our troubles cam' sair.

2. A puff, a blast, a current of air, a draught (Uls. c.1840 W. Lutton Montiaghisms (1924), 1953 Traynor; I., n. and m.Sc. 1973).Sc. 1727 P. Walker Remark. Passages 150:
Mr George Barclay got a Waff of that murthering East-wind in the 1679.Sc. 1797 Scots Mag. (Sept.) 689:
Till wi' a waff a reek, whan gaun about, I thought indeed I gat an eye dung out.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xxxix.:
A cauld waff of wind blawing from the frozen land of earthly self.Sc. 1836 Sc. Monthly Mag. (July) 208:
The waff o' the broad-swords that blew them away.m.Sc. 1870 J. Nicholson Idylls 64:
A waff frae the door gars her 'neeze.Dmf. 1875 A. Anderson Two Angels 79:
An' a wauf o' his breath like a brimstone low Made my very han's grow black.Sh. 1898 Shetland News (26 March):
Dey [a breed of hens] canna bide da laestest waff o' cauld.Edb. 1926 Broughton Mag. (Summer) 7:
Scottis Letters has bin the deidest o' a' deid en's — never a waff o' life in 't.Fif. 1946 J. C. Forgan Maistly 'Muchty 12:
The waff o' wind that saftly blaws, Ower auld Craigoorus Knowe.

3. A slight amount of some material blown about by the wind, a puff, flurry (Sh., Abd. 1973).Ags. c.1860 A. B. Dalgetty Liff (1940) 59:
A nicht o' frost an' waffs o' snow.Edb. 1915 T. W. Paterson Auld Saws 40:
But bide awee; they'll get a waff O' what they've flung.Sc. 1918 Chambers's Jnl. (May) 301:
It emitted a big waff of blue smoke.

4. In various transf. senses, of something just perceptible: (1) of smells: a whiff, aroma, slight odour (Sh. 1825 Jam.; Abd. a.1838 Jam. MSS. X. 245; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl., waf; I.Sc., Cai., Abd., Per., Slg., Fif., wm. and sm.Sc. 1973).Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 217:
To fin' the waff o' their sweet breath.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry 29:
A canny waff o' sweet perfume.Kcb. 1895 Crockett Moss Hags xxxii.:
I steek baith the inner and the outer doors to keep awa' the waff o' the brock.Sh. 1897 Shetland News (5 June):
Fling da watter ower da air o' hay it's ootby i' da soae at da partition. ta tak da cauld furt wauf aff o't.Ork. 1927 Peace's Almanac 133:
Hid wad a been a bonnie waff wi' dee whan du wan oot o' da midden pow.

(2) of sounds: a soft strain, a faint echo, a murmur (Sh. 1973).s.Sc. 1832 Border Mag. 269:
Like a waff o' music, still, love, That whispered vow I hear.Slg. 1898 J. M. Slimmon Dead Planet 77:
Some waff o' heavenly music.Sc. 1933 W. Soutar Seeds in the Wind 38:
Louder was the waff o' waves, An' lichter was the licht.

(3) of sight: a hurried or transient view, a glimpse (Sc. 1808 Jam.)Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian li.:
I sought every glen and cleuch but teil a wauff of his coat-tail could I see.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry 28:
That the bauld-bosom'd clerk mith get A waff o' his face ere aff he set.Rnf. 1862 A. M'Gilvray Poems 19:
We cannot brook their very waff, Nor even to see their shadows, Pass by this day.Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 242:
It is but seldom that we get a waff of him ava.Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 42:
I juist got a waff o' him gaun roon' the corner.

(4) a slight touch in passing, a glancing blow (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1953 Traynor).Sc. a.1754 E. Erskine Works (1785) II. 536:
A very little waff of any thing will do it hurt.Bnff. 1847 A. Cumming Tales 32:
Death gae'm a whaff, and couped him aff In some Italian city.Arg. 1914 J. M. Hay Gillespie ii, ix.:
The waff o' a newspaper 'ill sweep you off.

(5) a slight attack of an illness, esp. a cold, a touch, a mild indisposition.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
To denote the sudden impression sometimes made on the human frame, in consequence of a temporary exposure to chill air, it is said that one has gotten a waff or waif of cauld.Ayr. 1822 Galt Entail xxxviii.:
Just a waff o' cauld that I got twa nights ago.Gsw. 1884 H. Johnston Martha Spreull 15:
I am real muckle fashed wi' my head, especially when I get a waff o' cauld.Dmf. 1932 Border Mag. (May) 68:
“A wauf o' caul' atween the shooders,” and a mustard plaster cures that.

(6) a short or incidental experience, a momentary enjoyment (of something pleasant) (Sc. 1825 Jam.); “a sudden affection” (Abd. a.1838 Jam. MSS. X. 245).Ayr. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie l.:
We maun gie something to the young woman and the bairns that we may get a waff o' their goodwill likewise.Ayr. 1879 J. White Jottings 177:
We whiles got a waff o' true bliss Frae the best o' a' airts.

5. An apparition, ghost, the vision of a dead or absent person (s.Sc. 1825 Jam.). Also in n.Eng. dial.Wgt. 1705 Session Bk. Penninghame (1933) I. 162:
She saw the waff of a man coming in at the one door and going owt at the other door of the barn [on Halloween].s.Sc. 1815 Dangerous Secrets II. 163:
Your honour forgets I fand my dear maister mysel, an' saw him laid in the cauld grave. It's been his waff.