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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SPORRAN, n. Also sporan, sporrin, ¶sparren. A purse or pouch, specif. the leather pouch, now often highly ornamented with goat-hair, fur or brass, worn suspended from a waist belt by a Highlander in front of his kilt, and used to hold money and other small articles. Gen.Sc. [′spɔrən]Sc. 1752 J. Campbell Highl. Scot. 8:
This Weapon [dirk] hangs before in a Scabbard along with a Knife and Fork, and a Purse for their Money, which they term a Sparren.
Sc. 1817 Scott Rob Roy xxxiv.:
Had ither folk's purses been as weel guarded, I doubt if your sporran wad hae been as weel filled.
Abd. 1867 W. Anderson Rhymes 97:
The Campbell in his sporrin bears A never-failing charm.
Sc. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xv.:
A five-shilling piece (which he declared he had at that moment in his sporran).
Sc. 1931 J. Lorimer Red Sergeant xix.:
I produced a sporran. “Here's twenty gold pieces.”
Sc. 1958 Maxwell & Hutchison Sc. Costume 158:
The traditional sporran, which began as a leather purse with a thong as a drawstring, and was looped over the belt, and in the late seventeenth century followed the late medieval purse by becoming a leather or sealskin bag sewn to a brass top.
Sc. 1994 Daily Record 5 Mar 51:
The travelling Scottish fans always treat this as the greatest triangular contest in the Five Nations battle - the three P's. To be more exact, this weekend is also about Points on the board, Punts in their sporrans and Pints in their bellies.
Abd. 1994 Sheena Blackhall in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 135:
An Aik Coutts, smoorichan intil a dumplin o' a waitress half his age, his sporran heist till her apron - an her kecklin like a kittlin.
Sc. 1996 Scotland on Sunday 28 Jan 16:
Sair heids and drookit sporrans will be the order of the day at Scottish Television's fun factory today in the aftermath of a mass ceilidh last night in the Henry Wood Hall.
Sc. 2002 Edinburgh Evening News 7 Feb 3:
However, problems started shortly after the Highland dress - kilt, sporran, shirt, jacket, shoes, hose and skean-dhu - left the company's headquarters.
Sc. 2003 Daily Star 28 Mar 20:
Cops arrested him and found a folding knife in his sporran.

[Gael. sporan, id.]

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"Sporran n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/sporran>

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