Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1776-1822
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SLIT, n., v. Also slitt (Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 325). Dim. slitty (Sc. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs II. 189). Sc. form and usages:
I. n. 1. As in Eng. Specif. in Sc. a type of sheep-mark consisting of a cut in the ear (Kcb. 1970).Abd. 1778 Aberdeen Jnl. (24 Aug.):
A Nip and a Slit on one of each's Ears.Sh. 1822 S. Hibbert Description (1891) 185:
These [sheep marks] received such names as a shear, a slit, a hole.
‡2. One of the segments of an orange (Abd.13 1910).
3. In pl.: the reeds in a weaver's loom. But poss. a miswriting of splits, id.Slk. 1789 R. Hall Galashiels (1898) 286:
The friction the whiels cases upon the Slits heath rendered our stok almost Euseless.
4. “A splinter; a splinter of rotten timber” (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.).
II. v. As in Eng. in combs. (1) slit-mill, a slitting mill, for splitting iron bars or plates; (2) slit-nail, a split-pin.(1) Sc. 1776 A. Smith Wealth of Nations ii. i.:
The furnace, the forge, the slit-mill.Gsw. 1782 Caled. Mercury (13 Feb.):
Broomielaw Croft, the Slit-mill and Tools.(2) Per. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Per. 96:
An oblong hole, into which a slit-nail is put, that keeps the teeth immoveable.
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"Slit n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/slit>
