Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1899
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
†SHAEK, n. Sh. form of Chack, n.2, a clicking noise. See S, letter, 6.Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 163:
Hearing certain sounds in old wood, called a shaek, foreboded important events. These sounds are doubtless produced by tiny insects in the wood, but our superstitious forefathers heard them as the voice of Fate. A sound like the ticking of a watch was called a "marriage shaek," a vibrating sound a "flitting shaek", and a dropping sound a "dead shaek".
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Shaek n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/shaek>
