Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BREATH, Braith, n. Also braeth, breith, brith. [breθ, brɛθ, briθ]

Sc. form of Eng. breath.m.Sc. 1982 Douglas Fraser in Hamish Brown Poems of the Scottish Hills 8:
And, fegs, it's lang sin' lass or sang
Has gart me catch my breith,wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 7:
You ken better than mention
The words "auld" and "lady" in the wan braithFif. 1991 William Hershaw in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 166:
Ti rax a resurrection, speir
Despair and horror brak wi the Sun's bricht breithSc. 1991 T. S. Law in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 34:
he'd hae tae tell the relict daith
haed whummelt-oot her paer man's braith.Lnk. 1991 Duncan Glen Selected Poems 62:
The clypie voices jabberin,
jabberin, jabberin agin themsels,
stilled to quait
- at least for an intak o braith.Fif. 1992 Simon Taylor Mortimer's Deep 139:
'He's here i the castle, jaist arrivit. Noo haud yer wheesht, an save yer breith.'Sh. 1994 Laureen Johnson in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 164:
I wis just steppin back ta get me braeth, when I wis awaar o a car haalin in at da fit o wir rodd.w.Lth. 2000 Davie Kerr A Puckle Poems 22:
When Scotland has nae braith ti draw,
An 'Auld Sang' ends, withoot a blaw.

Sc. usages:

1. “Opinion, sentiments; tendency of thought” (Sc. 1825 Jam.²; Bnff.², Abd.²², Ags.², Slg.³, Lnk.³ 1935).Sc. 1825 Jam.²:
I wad fain hear his breath about this business.Fif. 1894 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin, Swatches o' Hodden-Grey xxii.:
The nuptial day sidna be preceesly fixed til I had smelt my faither's breath on the subjeck.Arg.¹ 1935:
This is a gey queer turn-up; I wad lake yer braith on it afore I dae onything.Rnf. 1790 A. Wilson Poems (1876) II. 87:
An' war I to relate their breath O' you, ye'd say I blether't.

2. Phrs.: (1) abeen the breath, aloud; (2) aboon the breath, above —, above the nostrils. See also Abune, 4 (5) (a); (3) to break braith, to speak, talk, open one's mouth in speech; (4) to draw breath upon, to mention, utter, speak of; (5) to get abeen one's breath, to get a breathing-space, get respite from some harassing work or difficulty (Cai. 1946); (6) ull, ill breath, ill-will, bad feeling; (7) to pit oot one's breath, to give vent to one's feelings in speech.(1) Abd.² 1935:
Dinna speak abeen yer breath.(2) Sc. [1826] R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 208; Cai.⁷ 1936:
In May 1700, Thomas Cook . . . was indicted for scoring a woman in Auchencraw above the breath [that is, cutting her on the brow in the form of a cross].Fif.¹⁰ 1935:
In the puerperium the mother was forbidden to raise her hands “aboon her breath” till the ninth day was past.(3) m.Lth. 1857 Misty Morning xxxiv.:
In a stunkert fit [she] lockit hersel' up in her bedroom an' hisna broken braith wi' yin o' us since.(4) Sh. 1900 Shetland News (12 May):
Doo's no ta draw braeth apon hit.(6)Bch. 1928 (per Abd.¹⁵):
He his an ull breath at him. Thirs an ill breath atween them.(7) Abd. 1882 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 171:
An' they cud but get mou'ban' wi' er, an' Jean pit oot 'er breath upon 'im.

3. Comb.: †breath-bellows, the lungs.Slk. 1829 Hogg Shepherd's Calendar I. xi.:
My heart . . . lap up through my midriff into my breath-bellows.