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: 1704-1863, 1930
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DICE, v., adv. Sc. usages. Also .†dyce.
1. v.
(1) To ornament or mark with a diced or square pattern. More specifically: “to sew a kind of waved pattern near the border of a garment” (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.); “to weave in figures resembling dice” (Lth. 1825 Jam.2). Ppl.adj. diced.Sc. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Shepherd Act I. Sc. ii. in Poems (1728):
He . . . spreads his Garters dic'd beneath his Knee.Edb. 1828 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch (1839) x.:
The lang diced window of the kirk.Rnf. 1813 E. Picken Poems, etc. II. 134:
He touk his diced bonnet, an' brush'd it fu' clean.
(2) In gen.: to turn anything ont smartly, to make trim and neat (n.Sc., Rxb. 1825 Jam.2; m.Lth.1, Bwk.2 1949). Sometimes with aff, oot, up.Cai. 1930 Caithness Forum in John o' Groat Jnl. (25 April):
A' he will hev til dae is til touch a button in 'e chumley neuk an' she'll be diced up til a t.y.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 115:
Then Colen said, the carline made it [song] nice, But well I kend she cud it tightly dyce; Afttimes unbidden, she's lilted it to me.Bwk. 1863 A. Steel Poems (1864) 172:
Syne diced was she [wheel-barrow] aff in a coat o' sky blue.
†2. adv. In a diced pattern.Sc. 1704 in Sc. Antiquary (July 1900) 31:
To have readie tartan . . . trewes and short hose of red and grein set dyce.
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"Dice v., adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dice>
