Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1821, 1873-1913, 1988
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FENDFU, adj. Also fendfou, fenfa. Able to fend for oneself, resourceful, energetic (Ags.19 1950). [′fɛn(d)fə]Dmf. 1821 Blackwood's Mag. (Dec.) 321:
The sighing gudewife will lack her snawy blanket wi' the blue edge, else ye're grown less fendfou than ever I saw ye.Sc.(E) 1873 D. M. Ogilvy Willie Wabster 9:
Troth I'm jalousin' she was fendfou'.Ayr. 1913 “Kissock” Sc. Poems 22:
But oor wee Jean's a fenfa wean, Wi' muckle gumption o' her ain.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 74:
Gin the ae answer tae dool is wark then here's
as muckle ontak as onie could want, fendfu bliss,
kyauve warthy o the laist drap o strength.
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"Fendfu adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/fendfu>
