Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1779-1818, 1887
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PERK, n.1 Also pirk, purk. [pɛrk]
1. A pole, a perch (Ayr. 1825 Jam.), specif. a wooden pole or rod projecting from a wall or window on which clothes are hung to dry, now applied also to an indoor clothes-rail or rope used for this purpose (Ayr. 1825 Jam.; Arg. 1936 L. McInnes S. Kintyre 15; Lnk., Ayr. 1958, purk). Also in Eng. dial. Hence perk-tree, an upright pole or post in a garden or yard for supporting a clothes-line, a clothes-pole; “a rough or unbarked pole from which green or garden poles are made” (Sc. 1887 Jam.). See Tree.Gsw. 1779 Session Papers, Dreghorn v. Ker (2 March) 7:
Two poles or perks for drying cloaths upon.Slg. 1818 W. Muir Poems 56:
On every pirk the clouts are clashing.
2. A small wooden skewer used for stopping up a hole, a peg (Cai. 1903 E.D.D.).
3. A lineal measure varying in extent from place to place, a rod, pole or perch (Ayr. 1825 Jam., Ayr. 1930), not in normal Sc. lineal measure and prob. an adaptation of Imperial standard.Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr. Duguid 252:
Aboot forty perks ayont the cothoose o' the Misk.
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"Perk n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/perk_n1>
