Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1819-1825, 1925
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COUPON, COUPIN, Coupen, Coopin, Cowpon, Cowpin, n. A very small piece of anything, a fragment; a rag; “a slice or portion” (Mry.1 1928, coupon, coupen, coupin). “This word in Fife is very often applied to a small portion of animal food” (Fif. 1879 Jam.5, s.v. cowpon). Mostly used in pl. (Abd.6 1913, coopins). [′kʌupən, -ɪn, ′kupɪn]Sc. 1819 J. Rennie St Patrick III. xiv.:
Deil be in my fingers gin I winna gi'e you a helpin' haun' mysel tae rive him in coupins lith, lim' an' spawl.Ags. 1825 J. Ross Sermon, etc. 25:
Ye're a' to cowpins now my sark, An' hardly worth the washer's wark.Dmf. 1925 W. A. Scott in Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 21:
Tam let the jug fa' and it went into coopins.
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"Coupon n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/coupon>
