Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1776-1821, 1875-1887
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BAWSEY, BAWSIE, BAWSY, n. Also bausie.
1. “A horse or a cow having a white strip or patch on the face” (Sc. 1887 Jam.6).Sc. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs II. 170:
Bruckie play'd boo to bausie And aff scour'd the cout like the win'.
2. An old horse.Fif. 1875 A. Burgess Poute 114:
I'm thinkin' my Bawsey wud count it a privilege and pleasure to keep her tongue in exercise for five minutes lickin' the broch frae their mou'.Edb. 1821 W. Liddle Poems on Different Occasions 87:
You mind me o' a buskit bawsey At th' carters' play.Cld. 1887 Jam.6:
Bawsie . . . is also used as a familiar name for an old horse, — a douce, canny old beast.Kcb. 1789 D. Davidson Seasons 7–8:
The harrows yok'd, and, now, Bawsy, reluctant, tears the breckan roots Harsh, spaul frae spaul.
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"Bawsey n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bawsey>
