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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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TRINK, n., v. Also trenk. Dims. trinkie; trinket (Uls.). [trɪŋk]

I. n. 1. A narrow open drain or trench, gen. for the passage of water, a gutter, ditch, runnel (Bnff. 1792 Trans. Bnff. Field Club (1889) 59; Cai., Abd. 1825 Jam.; Cai. 1905 E.D.D.; ne.Sc., Ags., Fif. 1973); a street-gutter (Uls. 1973); the bed or channel of a stream; a narrow channel, inlet or creek between coastal rocks (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Ork. 1929 Marw.; I. and n.Sc., Ags., Fif. 1973); the water flowing in such channels (Abd. 1825 Jam.); fig. the hollow groove between the nostrils and the upper lip (Uls. 1904 Victoria Coll. Mag. 46). Adj. trinky, narrow, esp. of a sea-creek (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Ork. 1929 Marw.; Sh. 1973), slender, thin (Marw., a lang trinky stane).Rs. 1741 W. MacGill Old Ross-shire (1911) II. 100:
A trink by the flood made directly through the land.Mry. 1763 Session Papers, Dunbar v. Dunbar State of Process 37:
The said Trink, which conveyed the Black Acre Water Down by Tilleyglin's Meikle Park.Sh. 1771 Old-Lore Misc. IV. iv. 193:
Along the seashore westward to Hagmarksgoe to the small trink on the banks.Cai. 1772 Session Papers, Petition D. Forbes (28 July) 42:
The old trink of the water of Brora.Abd. 1797 Session Cases, Fraser v. Leslie (19 Oct.) 19:
The old channel or trink of Don, as they call it, was at the back of the Broadhill.Ags. a.1840 A. Laing Raid o' Fearn (1885) 9:
But Fearn men dously made a trenk, They dug it lang and wide.Fif. 1863 St Andrews Gazette (26 Dec.):
An' in the toons the gutter trinket Fills a' the street.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 78:
They hirschlet the trees down the face o' the hill in a trink they made for the purpose.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 50:
Tae see the trink atween him an' the land fairly flou'd ower.Cai. 1909 D. Houston 'E Silkie Man 7:
'Ey pu'd in throu' 'e trink.Abd. 1959 People's Jnl. (28 Nov.) 9:
Yarkin' wi' an aul' hyow makin' trinkies for't [water] tae win awa' fae the door.Ork. 1992:
The water made its own trink between the blocks in the chimney and got in that way ... there was a bubble in the ceiling and a lot of water lying above it.

2. A rut in a road (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 198; ne.Sc., Ags. 1973). Also fig. Comb. and deriv. cairt-trink, a cart-track, a rutted road (Abd. 1973); trinkie, adj., filled with ruts (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 198).Abd. 1916 G. Abel Wylins 116:
They stappit ower the trinkies rinnin' red.Abd. 1929 J. Alexander Mains & Hilly 99:
We canna weel wun oot o' the trinks we wis gart traivel in fin we wis bairns.Bnff. 1950 Banffshire Jnl. (25 April):
Often the journey to the grave was long, the roads but mere cart-'trinks'.

3. In quarries: a long narrow flagstone (Cai. 1905 E.D.D.).

II. v. tr. To cut into ruts (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 198); intr. to become filled with ruts (Id.). Hence trinket, trinkit, (1) rutted, filled with ruts (Id.; Bnff., Abd. 1973); (2) long and narrow, contracted (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.).(1) Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS. xviii.:
The roads wis terrible broken and trinkit.