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: 1824-1886
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UNDERFIT, n., adj., adv. Also -foot. See Fit, n.1
I. n. The sole of the foot. Attrib. in quot.Arg. 1882 Arg. Herald (3 June):
Did ye try unnerfit saw: they say it's gran for the glackach.
II. adj. 1. Of peats: cut perpendicularly, straight down into the ground, instead of sideways or horizontally from a Briest (Ayr. 1930).Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 454:
Underfit peats, peat turf, digged beneath the foot not in the common way of cutting them of[f] a breest.
2. Of the wheel of a horse-driven mill: see quot.Sc. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 318:
Horse-wheels are of various construction, as under-foot and over-head. . . . In the under-foot wheel, the horses draw by means of trace-chains and swing-tree.
III. adv. Down below; underneath; underground.Sc. 1840 Carlyle Heroes iii.:
The obscure sojourn of daemons and reprobate is underfoot.Sc. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xxvi.:
Coming to the edge of the hills [we] saw the whole Carse of Stirling underfoot.
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"Underfit n., adj., adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/underfit>
