Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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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.
Quotation dates: 1834-2000
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BY-ORDINAR, Bye -, Biordnar, Byordnar, Byordinaur, Byor'ner, By-or'nar, adj., adv. [′bɑɪ′ɔrdnər, ′bɑɪ′ɔrnər Sc., but em. and wm.Sc. + -or(d)nər]
1. adj. Extraordinary, unusual, out of the common. Gen.Sc. Also absol. Adv. bye-ordinarly (Ags. 1975). Sc. 1979 T. S. Law in Joy Hendry Chapman 23-4 (1985) 81:
Thare is naething byordinar tae yer nichtit ee
atween the day ye saw an the day ye daenae see. Sc. 1834 H. Miller Scenes and Legends (1850) xviii.:
The ring's a bonny ring, an' something bye ordinar.Abd. 1923 J. Lawrence in Bnffsh. Jnl. (13 Feb.) 2:
Miss Milne, who "keepit hoose" for her brother, was a woman "by-ordinar."Abd. 1985 Robbie Kydd in Alexander Scott New Writing Scotland 3 54:
He was someone byordinar altogether, black-browed and tiny and fierce, his arms grimly folded. Abd. 1993:
At win's byordinar. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 49:
Sin he'd been knee-heich tae a chunty, he'd seen foo fowk treated the byordinar, the deviant - they war fremmit kye in a pedigree herd o normals; ferlies tae be lichtlified, ootlinned an peetied. Dundee 1991 Ellie McDonald The Gangan Fuit 34:
Nou, ye're miesslan awa wi the lave.
A rickle o banes i the nave
o Corstorphine Kirk.
Naithin biordinar. m.Sc. 1979 William J. Rae in Joy Hendry Chapman 23-4 (1985) 79:
Weel, he had scarce but lowpit ashore and begun a hop or sae in the wey o the Gudgie Burn puddocks, whaun Eck tuik a byordinaur fit o croakin. m.Sc. 1988 William Neill Making Tracks 33:
Yon muckle aik that stuid sae strang an ticht
bi yon byornar Januar blest wes bait. "em.Sc.(a)"" 1931 J. Ressich in Glasgow Herald (8 Aug.):
Sam . . . could baith read an' write — an' that wis mair by-ordinar' in thir days nor ye micht think.em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 72:
'He's a byordinar man. I canna deny I'm muckle obliged tae him, and that gars me bite ma tongue, but it wasna himsel I meant in particular.' Fif. 1896 D. S. Meldrum Grey Mantle and Gold Fringe 242:
That wouldn't keep people in the street; and something far more by-ordinar, I knew, had to account for my walking into a stir.w.Lth. 2000 Davie Kerr A Puckle Poems 14:
Ow'r oor new walkway hikers bash
an seek 'guid health' byor'ner.Edb. 1994:
The pairtie wiz byordnar. Ayr. 1889 H. Johnston Chron. of Glenbuckie 259:
It's by-or'nar what's revealed to bruit beasts.Kcb. 1891 M.A.M. Halloween Guest 52:
I am bye-ordinarly vexed that I canna find yer breast-preen.Dmf. 1998 Jilly Hawker in Neil R. MacCallum Lallans 51 13:
Yin was byornar tho. Eilidh had first got sicht o this magneeficent winged craitur, soarin effortlessly hie abuin the island in the bay. Hou gentie an free ....!
2. adv. Extraordinarily, unusually. Gen.Sc.Ags. 1924 A. Gray Any Man's Life 45:
It is indeed A maist byordinar bonny nicht.Per. 1903 H. MacGregor Souter's Lamp 98:
Ye're no byor'nar late, takin' a'thing into consideration.Gsw. 1879 A. G. Murdoch Rhymes and Lyrics 51:
Thanks to his "bonnet," what he said Was aye by or'nar harkit.
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"By-ordinar adj., adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Apr 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/byordinar>
