Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
ABE, ABEE, A-BE, v. (See also Let-a-be, n.) [ə′bi:] In phr.: Let (leave, bid) abe.
1. = Leave undisturbed, let alone, let be. Gen.Sc.Sc. a.1724 in Allan Ramsay T. T. Misc. (1762) 58:
Had your tongue, mither, and let that abee, For his eild and my eild can never agree.Sc. 1874 W. Allan Hamespun Lilts 318:
Gi'e me the plain lassie wi' sense, Wha lets Natur's tracin's abee.Ags. 1879 J. Guthrie Sel. Poems and Songs 59:
They canna thole to lat abee The Edzell shootin.Per. c.1850 W. Wilson Poems (1875) 103:
But aften I wish he wad tak' my auld mither, An' let puir young Tibbie abee.Knr. 1900 H. Haliburton Horace in Homespun 228:
And let abee the ware that shines On sideboards o' the gentry.Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter James Inwick 115:
He had been tell't, afore he cam to that meetin', . . . to steek his mou', an' let the kirk a-be.Rnf. 1840 J. Mitchell The Wee Steeple's Ghaist 168:
Gude faith! we'll see, If mankind will let me a-be, Wha's stomach first will turn.Ayr. 1879 R. Adamson Lays of Leisure Hours 9:
An' if it should happen tae need a bit brush Just let the puir body a-be.Wgt. 1804 R. Couper Poems I. 193:
The bansters capping round the swats, Bid jealous touts abee.Kcb. 1893 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister xix. 224:
Lea' decent folk abee.
2. (As adv. phr.) Not to mention, much more, far less (after neg.), let alone. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1819 Scott Bride of Lam. II. x.:
I hate fords at a' times, let abe where there's thousands of armed men on the other side.Sc. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona xxii. 261:
Your father would be gey an little pleased if we was to break a leg to ye, Miss Drummond, let-a-be drowning of you.wm.Sc. 1835 J. D. Carrick Laird of Logan I. 281:
It is desperate difficult to gang, let abee dance, with an iron spit hinging at ane's side.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Abe v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/abe>