Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1736-1928, 2000
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NEATH, prep. Also ne(i)th, naith. Beneath, below, underneath (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 352; Cai. 1903 E.D.D.; Lnk. 1919 G. Rae Clyde and Tweed 104; Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 33, Abd. 1928 J. Baxter A' Ae 'Oo 33). Mainly Sc., chiefly poet. [niθ, neθ]Bnff. 1787 W. Taylor Poems 25:
Grannie's crown fu' weil he claw'd, An' 'neath her kirtle, E'en wi' the spurtle.Ayr. 1840 J. Ramsay Eglinton Park Meeting 17:
She leukt sae awfu' queer frae 'neath her bonnet.Lth. 1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 177:
One of the pair caught him by the feet, the other neath the arm-pits.Per. 1893 R. Ford Harp 162:
I fand my faither 'neth the yird.Hdg. 1903 J. Lumsden Toorle 250:
My pantry table, whan 'twas set, Groan'd like a Lord's neth its load!Abd. 1924 M. Angus Tinker's Road 47:
Reistlin' the heather, and keekin' 'naith the weeds.Abd. 2000 Sheena Blackhall The Singing Bird 45:
Frae howff an office, wirkers takk their ease,
Ettin their denner piece neth kirkyaird trees.
Hence ne(a)thmost, neith-, -maist (Abd. 1915 H. Beaton Benachie 32), nethmist, -mest (ne.Sc. 1881 W. Gregor Folk-Lore 79), nedmist (Sc. 1808 Jam.), newmost (Abd. c.1782 Ellis E.E.P. (1889) V. 774), n(y)ow-, adj., lowest, undermost (Abd., Slk. 1825 Jam.; Abd. 1929 J. Milne Dreams o' Buchan 30; ne., em.Sc. 1963). Obs. in Eng. from 15th c. [′neθmɪst, Abd. + ′njʌu-]Sc. 1736 Ramsay Proverbs (1776) 37:
He that wrestles with a turd will come foul aff, whether u'most or nowmost.Abd. 1754 R. Forbes Jnl. from London 24:
My side happen'd to be newmost.Ags. 1790 D. Morison Poems 27:
Till garter height the neith'most clout, Is bang'd wi' awfu' force.Abd. 1824 G. Smith Douglas 79:
Wae to him that's nethmost whan he's flung.Ayr. 1870 J. K. Hunter Studies 280:
Expectin' to see the corpse o' him lyin' on the neathmost step.Abd. 1928 Weekly Jnl. (11 Oct.) 6:
An' the nyowmost half wis his diary, an' here he vrat doon a' he hid deen that day.
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"Neath prep.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/neath>
