Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

‡LODESMAN, n. A pilot, steersman (Sh. 1961). Now obs. in Eng.; a primitive compass consisting of a lump of magnetic iron on a string (Sh. 1961). Comb. lod(e)smanswy, the navigable course of a ship, a safe channel between rocks, the fairway (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl., Sh. 1961). [′lɔdzmən(zwɑe)]Sh. 1894 Williamson MSS. (9 Jan.):
He's a lodesman's journey to get till it or frae it when he's dry.