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.
FERE, n.1 Also feer, fier(e), feir. Dim. feirie.
1. As in Eng., only in arch. or poet. use: a companion, comrade, spouse, contemporary, equal. Cf. playfere s.v. Play.Sc. c.1725 Lady Wardlaw in Ramsay T. T.Misc. (1876) I. 228:
Yonder, my valiant sons and feirs, Our raging ravers wait.Sc. 1775 Hobie Noble in Child Ballads No. 189. xx.:
Get up, get up, my feiries five — For I wat here makes a fu ill day.Ayr. 1788 Burns Auld Lang Syne v.:
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere, And gie's a hand o' thine.Abd. 1828 P. Buchan Ballads I. 179:
Come choose a fere, my daughter dear, As lang as ye hae me.Rnf. 1839 in R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 247:
Clock Sorrow Mill has nae feir.Knr. 1891 “H. Haliburton” Ochil Idylls 87:
Alas! alas! my fellow feres, We may no more deny The pressure of the speeding years.Sc. 1920 A. Gray From Heine 75:
Am I ower auld to be your fere?Lnk. 1991 Duncan Glen Selected Poems 34:
The makar stauns alane
without feres
and desires the river flowin past
as me you. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 48:
Norman's fiers micht winner aboot his sexual leanings, bit he was canny eneuch nae tae preen his homosexual colours tae the post.
2. Phr.: †feer for feer, equal for equal, equal in every respect.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 15:
For he's nae boss, six score o' lambs the year, In heartning gueed, the match is feer for feer.Mry. 1806 R. Jamieson Ballads I. 294:
And Bess was a braw thumpin kittie, For Habbie just feer for feer.Abd. 1824 G. Smith Douglas 23:
Norval shall match Glenalvon, feer for feer.
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"Fere n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/fere_n1>