Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1869, 1991
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DOSSAN, Dosan, n. A forelock, a “cow's lick” (Cai.7 1940; Rs. 1949 Gsw. Herald (7 Feb.)); “applied usually to horses, and in derision to girls or boys” (Inv. 1905 E.D.D. Suppl., dossan); a fringe (Nai. c.1925 (per Mry.1); Rs. 1990s).Rs. 1991 Bess Ross Those Other Times 162:
She'd started parting her hair on the side and had two of her mother's kirby grips holding her dosan clear of her forehead.w.Sc. 1869 A. Macdonald Settlement (1877) 113:
In the act of touching his towzy dosan, by way of reverence.
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"Dossan n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 12 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dossan>
