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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BAMULLO, Bomullo, Bomulloch, n. (See second quot.)Sc. 1846 Anon. The Muckomachy adapted from W. Drummond Polemo-Middinia 35:
His broggit staff . . . strack the bully, Wi' sic a buffet, Upon the haffet, As garr'd John Lanceman dance Bamullo.
Ags., Per. 1808 Jam.:
Bamullo, Bomullo, Bomulloch. To make one lauch Bamullo, to make one change one's mirth into sorrow; to make one cry. “I'll gar you lauch, sing, or dance, Bamullo,”(for all the modes of expression are used), is a threatening used by parents or nurses, when their children are troublesome or unseasonably gay, especially when they cannot be lulled to sleep. It is pron[ounced] as with an a in Ags., with an o in Perths.

[Prob. from bo, contr. for bòcan, hobgoblin (see Bawcan), and molach, hairy (W.J.W.). In Ane Account of the Rise and Offspring of the Name of Grant (1876) “a little familiar spirit, a little hairy creature in the shape of a female child” is said “to have followed the family and served for great drudgery to them” and was called Meg Mullach.]

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"Bamullo n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 26 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bamullo>

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