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.
Quotation dates: 1748-1914
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†GLYDE, n.1 Also glide, gleyde, gleid, gloid, gloyd, gla(i)ed. [gləid, glɔid]
1. An old horse: “this term is used only by old people” (Bnff., Mearns 1825 Jam. s.v. gloyd). Also attrib. Now only arch.Abd. 1748 R. Forbes Ajax 11:
Fan his poor glyde was sae mischiev'd He'd neither ca' nor drive.Lnk. c.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 107:
An old crabet fellow riding upon an old glaied mare, which he always was a threshing upon with his stick.Ayr. 1787 Burns Letters (Ferguson) No. 112:
My auld, ga'd Gleyde o' a meere . . . as teugh and birnie as a vera devil wi' me.Slk. 1818 Hogg Wool-gatherer (1874) 80:
If ye corn an auld glide-aver weel, she'll soon turn about her heels, and fling i' your face.Arg. 1914 N. Munro New Road xiii.:
Leggatt will have a glyde-post runner for his letters to the south.
2. Fig. An old useless person (Abd. c.1782 Ellis E.E.P. V. 775); “a person of a disagreeable temper” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 66).Mry. 1806 J. Cock Simple Strains 118:
Gin ye bat kent, now, fu' I'm fry'd Wi' Sandy Shaw, that menseless glyde.Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales (1837) II. 278:
There's that auld gawed glaed wad fainer have a husband this day than the youngest amang you.ne.Sc. 1874 D. Macgregor The Scald 12:
Ye thrawart-tongued, ugly-gapin gloid, fit only for Beelzebub's saep suds.
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"Glyde n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 Aug 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/glyde_n1>
