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: 1822
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
MERWIFE, n. Extended by Hibbert from Eng. mermaid, merman, to form nonce comb. ¶merwife, a (married) mermaid. See also Mer-lady n.Sh. 1822 S. Hibbert Descr. Shet. (1891) 264:
The man . . . offered her protection beneath his roof as his betrothed spouse. The Mer-lady, perceiving that she must become an inhabitant of earth, found that she could not do better than accept the offer. . . .The Shetlander's love for his merwife was unbounded.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Merwife n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/merwife_n>
