Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1825, 1898-1922, 1987-2003
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1]
AIRISH, adj. Cool; chilly. (Obs. in St.Eng.) [′e:rɪ̢ʃ]Sc. 1825 Jam.2:
Airish, chilly.Sc. 1898 H. E. F. in E.D.D.:
Airish is still commonly used all over Scotland for chilly. [“That would now be putting it too strongly” (Slg.3 1931).]Abd. 1922 A. Buchan in Mair Swatches o' Hamespun 71:
It's gettin' airish, though, an' I maun feenish afore sax.Fif. 1987:
I put the bairn's coat on today because it's airish.Edb. 2003:
It's turned a wee bitty airish noo it's October.Arg. 1993:
A wee bit airish.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Airish adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 May 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/airish>
This short survey (6 questions) will help us improve the site.
