Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1761-1824, 1894-1902
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WAD, n.2 Also wadd, waud, wodd; †wade. Black lead, plumbago, graphite; by extension: a mine of black lead; a lead pencil (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Kcb., Dmf. 1973). Also in n.Eng. dial. [wɑd]Ayr. 1761 Session Papers, Depositions Witnesses of Linen Co., Irvine (25 July) 2:
In a hollow, where there had been an old wad.Inv. 1762 Session Papers, Macdonald v. Macpherson (3 April) 4:
A mine of wade, or black lead.Ayr. 1795 Stat. Acc.1 VI. 99:
A wodd mine was lately found on the estate of the Earl of Dumfries.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 89:
Indian rubber . . . used for defacing the marks of wadd, or black lead.Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 158:
My scholars ask for wad when they wish to purchase a blacklead pencil.Ayr. 1902 R. W. Dron Coal-Fields 63:
The "Waud " consisted of a band of coal which was in contact with the whin, and had been converted into graphite by the action of the heat.
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"Wad n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/wad_n2>
