Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1791, 1898
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
†LICH(E), n. A corpse. In Sc. only in combs. lich-bird, -fowl, the nightjar, Caprimulgus Europaeus. Found in poet. usage only and from its form a borrowing from Eng. dial. Cf. Lyke. [lɪtʃ]Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 12:
The howlet screamt, The liche fowle's hoarse, Did fairly deave her ear.Per. 1898 C. Spence Poems 184:
When mortals slept, and lichbirds wakit.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Lich n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/liche>
