Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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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: 1773-1891, 1988-2001
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AITH, n.1 Oath. Now gen. replaced by the Eng. form. [eθ Sc.; e1θ Ags.]Sc. a.1832 in A. Henderson Sc. Proverbs (1881) 16:
Of ill debtors men get aiths.m.Sc. 1988 William Neill Making Tracks 33:
He cried oot eftir me
ither an aith or a blissin.
Ma tackets duntit the causey as I ran
awa, awa frae a kennawhat in his een.Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Sc. Poems (1925) 2:
Before I married her, I'll take my aith, Her tongue was never louder than her breath.Edb. 1879 Stevenson and Henley Deacon Brodie (1924) Act III. Tab. v. Sc. 4:
An aith an' a bawbee was aye guid aneuch for puir Andra.Gsw. 1891 N. Dickson The Kirk Beadle 85:
If a bit aith would ease ye, Doctor, dinna mind me.Ayr. 1786 Burns Epistle to J. Lapraik vii.:
Then up I gat, an swoor an aith.Uls. 2001 Belfast News Letter 7 Apr 18:
In thae days, jist efter Edward VII cum tae tha kangrick, the wur threapin anent tha coronation aith, a maitter at's threapit ower yit.
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"Aith n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/aith_n1>
