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.
Quotation dates: 1721, 1789-1935
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MANT, v., n. Also maunt. [mɑnt]
I. v. To have an impediment in one's speech, to stammer, to stutter (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 338; I.Sc. 1903 E.D.D.; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.). Gen.Sc. (exc. Cai.). Hence manter, one who has an impediment in his speech, a stammerer; manting, vbl.n., a speech-impediment, a stammer (Sc. a.1813 A. Murray Hist. Eur. Langs. (1823) I. 341), stammering speech (Abd.4 1929); ppl.adj., prone to stammering.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 201:
There was a manting Lad in Fife, Wha cou'd na for his very Life Speak without stammering very lang Yet never manted when he sang.Kcb. 1789 D. Davidson Seasons 414:
Auld mantin Michael's daughter.ne.Sc. 1802 Edb. Mag. (July) 56:
They gape an' glowr, an' humph an' hae, An' wonder what I mean to say, As I were mantin.Per. 1857 J. Stewart Sketches 99:
Till hell-born echoes trumlin' maunt Their wilderin' shout.Fif. 1897 S. Tytler Lady Jean's Son xiii.:
I'll rather take a manter like your man Geordie, than be left a single leddy.Kcb. 1897 A. J. Armstrong Robbie Rankine 14:
Demosthenes, a mauntin' body that astonished the Greeks wi' his eloquence.Ork. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. 153:
He deudno mant when he sang.Sc. 1935 Sc. N. & Q. (Ser. 3) XIII. 24:
Habberin Jock mantet bit didna say't.
II. n. A speech impediment, a stammer, a stutter (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 111; Fif. 1926 Wilson Cent. Scot. 254). Gen.Sc. (exc. Cai.).Edb. 1801 J. Thomson Poems 119:
He . . . tell'd you a' his sermon down Without a maunt.s.Sc. 1839 Wilson's Tales of the Borders V. 189:
The former having what we call in Scotland a mant, a sullen visage, and a brawling temper.m.Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick ii.:
This ane said he had a squaky vice, an' that ane said he had a mant, an' the tither ane that he clippit his words.Arg. 1902 N. Munro Shoes of Fortune xv.:
'Tis my little sister Jeanie that's married on the great Doctor Doig — him wi' the mant i' the Tron kirk.Abd. 1917 C. Murray Sough o' War 41:
He slivvers, an' has sic a mant, an' ae clog-fit as weel.Sc. 1935 W. Soutar Poems in Scots 26:
It's no for makars to upvant Themsel's; lat mummers mak a mant O' a' their makins.
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"Mant v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/mant>
