A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1513, 1627-1628, 1699
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Tharm, n. Also: tharme, thern, phern. [ME and e.m.E. þærm (Layamon), þarm (c1275), þearm (c1380), thaarme (Prompt. Parv.), tharm (c1460), OE þarm, þearm. Cf. MDu., MLG darm, ON þarmr.] a. pl. Intestines, entrails, also sing. b. Gut as used in driving the mechanism of a watch. Also in the mod. dial. —a. 1513 Doug. viii xi 9.
The tharmys and the bowellys rent a1628 Carmichael Prov. No. 231.
A wide tharme had never a lang arme —b. 1699 Edinb. Gazette 12-14 April.
Stolen out of a house in Edinburgh … a gold watch moving with a thern, made by Richard Baker 1699 Edinb. Gazette 17-21 Aug.
A plain silver watch … with a shagarin pin'd caice, goes with a phern
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"Tharm n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/tharm>
