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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1700, 1928

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TITTIVILLIAN, adj. Rascally, mischief-making, gossip-mongering. Hence ¶titivillaries, n.pl., tattlings, trivialities of talk or thought. Liter.Ork. 1700 W. Mackintosh Curious Incidents (1892) 103:
A crew of tittivillian rascals and knaves who make it their study to goe through the town missinforming persons beyond their backs.Edb. 1928 A. D. Mackie In Two Tongues 30:
But huntygowks And titivillaries, Rank vapours aff My brain's distilleries.

[Nonce formations from O.Sc. tutivillar, tutiuillus, a gossip-monger, a scamp, a.1508, Mid.Eng. titivil(lus), id., O. Fr. Tutiville, a devil or demon in the mystery plays who picked up words dropped by priests in a careless recitation of the church service.]

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"Tittivillian adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tittivillian>

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