Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1827
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CARNWATH-LIKE, adj., adv.. Not known to our correspondents.
1. adj. “Having the appearance of wildness or awkwardness” (Sc. 1825 Jam.2; Ayr. 1898 E.D.D.); also simply carnwath (Edb., Gsw. E.D.D.).s.Sc. 1827 R. Chambers Picture Scot. I. 337:
The old church of Carnwath had its bell at the wrong end, namely the east . . . and this circumstance was considered so remarkable, that it occasioned the proverb of Carnwathlike to be attached, very generally throughout the south, to anything of an outrè or awkward nature.
2. adv. “Applied to wbat is distorted; synon. thrawn. An object is said to lie very Carnwath-like, when it is out of the proper line” (Sc. 1825 Jam.2).
[“Perhaps the phraseology might originate from the wild appearance of the country about the village of Carnwath [Lnk.], especially in former times when in a far less cultivated state” (Jam.). “More likely from the tortuous nature of the village, which twists like a snake and has five exits in different directions” (Lnk.3 1938).]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Carnwath-like adj., adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 12 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/carnwathlike_adj_adv>
