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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FOOS, n.pl. Also foose, fouse, fooz(e), fues, fews, fow(e)s. The house-leek, Sempervivum tectorum (w.Sc. 1741 A. M'Donald Galick Voc. 60, fowes; Sc. 1808 Jam., fews; Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 209, fows; Mry. 1839 G. Gordon Flora Mry. 16, fouse; Ags. 1848 W. Gardiner Flora Frf. 73, foo's; Bwk. 1853 G. Johnston Botany E. Borders 83, fooz, Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 147, fooze; Bnff., Abd. 1952). The sing. fou, fow is occasionally found (Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 147), also the deriv. forms fouet (Lth., Rxb. 1825 Jam.), fuet (Bwk. 1853 G. Johnston Botany E. Borders 83), fooit, fouit, fuit (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., 1942 Zai.; Fif., Slk. 1952), fouat. [Sc. fu:z, ′fu:ɪts, s.Sc. + ′fʌuɪts]Sc. 1767 H. Robertson Sch. of Arts I. 57:
Take a quantity of house-leek commonly called foose.
Kcb. 1814 W. Nicholson Tales 116:
The honeysuckles speel the roof An' fous adorn the gavel.
Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel ii.:
There is hay made at the Cross, and a dainty crop of fouats in the Grassmarket.
Ayr. 1834 Galt Lit. Life III. 18:
There was likewise an outshot stone in the middle of the gavel, on which grew a stool of fues.
Lnk. 1865 J. Hamilton Poems 89:
Thick an' strang the fouet grew A' roun' the divot-happit riggin'.
Rxb. 1876 Science Gossip 39:
Sedum telephium is the “orpy-leaf,” and Sempervivum tectorum is called “Fuits” (both are popular remedies for cuts, etc.).
Abd. 1900 C. Murray Hamewith 6:
Upon the easin' sods a fou Thick-leaved an' sappy yearly grew.

[O.Sc. fow, id., a.1646. Recorded for Sc. by W. Bullein Book of Simples (1579) 35 in the anglicised form full. Etym. uncertain. Phs. a substantival use of Fou, adj., from the full and closely packed cluster of leaves in the plant. The -at, -et, -it suffixes may represent a reduced form of -wort.]

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"Foos n. pl.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/foos>

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