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: 1930
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0]
SMELT, n.2 Also smilt; smelch, smilch, smulch. A calm patch on the sea (Cai. 1903 E.D.D., Mry. (smelch, smulch), Kcd. (smilch) 1911); a smooth, oily surface made on the sea by throwing out mashed limpets, etc., to lure fish (Ork. 1929 Marw.). Hence smelty (Ayr. 1930), smulchy, of water: calm, oily, smooth. Cf. Smolt, adj. [smɛlt, smɪlt(ʃ), smʌltʃ]Bnff. 1930:
There wis a smilt aboot twal o' clock fan we took roon the boatie t' the herbir.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Smelt n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 12 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/smelt_n2>
