Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

WAITH, n.1, adj. Also waithe.

I. n. A piece of property which is found ownerless, specif. flotsam and jetsam, gen. conjoined with wrack. Now arch. or hist.Sc. 1824 Hogg Confessions (1874) 513:
In an haill and free barony with court plaint . . . wraik, waith, wair, and sundry other commodities.
Sc. 1868 Session Cases (1867–8) 495:
Rights to all wreck and waith cast on the shore.
Ork. 1896 Scots Mag. (July) 112:
Seals and whales and sea-birds, drowned men and broken ships, all the “waithe and wrack” of the waters.

II. adj. Of an animal: strayed, wandering, roaming loose.Sc. 1710 T. Ruddiman Gl. to Douglas Aeneis :
A waith horse, i.e. a horse that wanders in pursuit of mares.
Rnf. 1724 Session Papers, Petition R. Orr (11 July 1759) 13:
He gathered the waith Sheep to the Water of Garnock.
Sc. 1828 Blancheflour and Jellyflorice in Child Ballads No. 300 xviii.:
Ye'll take out yon wild waith steed And bring him to the green.
Bnff. 1852 A. Harper Solitary Hours 57:
We need never think To gnidge his goule in onie mink, Unless 'ts made o' waith horse hair.
ne.Sc. 1881 W. Gregor Folk-Lore 197:
A horseshoe was nailed to some part of the boat — generally to the mast. A “waith-horse” shoe was most sought after.
n.Sc. 1929 J. M. McPherson Prim. Beliefs 65:
To catch the creature, it was necessary to get “a waith horse” bridle, and cautiously cast it over kelpie's head.

[O.Sc. waithe, = II., 1420, = I., 1441. Altered form of waif, Waff, adj.2, n.2]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Waith n.1, adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/waith_n1_adj>

28841

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: