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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

WENCH, n., v. Also wainch, winsh; winch. wunch (Rxb. 1917 Kelso Chronicle (31 Aug.) 4), see I, letter, 2. Dim. winchie. Sc. usages, now only dial. in Eng. [wɛnʃ, wɪnʃ]

I. n. 1. A girl, a lass, a young unmarried woman, freq. a little girl (Cai., em.Sc.(b), wm. and s.Sc. 1974). Also attrib. as in wench quean, id.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 214:
O mayst thou doat on some fair-paughty Wench, That ne'er will lout thy lowan Drouth to quench.Ayr. 1787 Burns Letters (Ferguson) No. 112:
A clean-shankit, straught, tight, weel-far'd winch.Dmf. 1823 J. Kennedy Poems 65:
Amang them a' to piek and choose, And with some winsome winchie noose.Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet vii.:
If a wench quean rin away from her ha'rst.ne.Sc. 1830 J. Grant Kcd. Traditions 46:
There won'd a lass in a neighbouring glen, An' a baldarach wench was she.Bwk. 1889 Ellis E.E.P. V. 726:
That little wench comin thrae the schule thonner.Ayr. 1904 D. Caldwell Kipper Fair 4:
Hi! winch, keep yer cauld haun's aff the barry.Rxb. 1927 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick 9:
The wainches war caain the towe.

2. A sweetheart, orig. female, but also extended to a girl's boy-friend (Rnf. 1935).

II. v. tr. and intr. 1. To court, sweetheart, to keep company with one of the opposite sex, orig. of a man with a girl, but now also in urban slang usage of a girl with a boy. Gen. (orig. wm.) Sc.Abd. p.1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shep. MS. 78:
You've been a winching sure or else your care Has been laid out in waiting for some Fair.Rnf. 1935 L. Kerr Woman of Glenshiels iv.:
They “clicked” each other, kidded each other, and by and by they would “winch” and marry each other.Gsw. 1936 G. Blake David and Joanna 134:
You that's winchin' our Joanna.m.Lth. 1972 M. Jamieson Old Wife 46:
“Whair are ye fur?” “A'm gaun winching.”wm.Sc. 1974 Roddy McMillan The Bevellers 13:
Winches this bird that works up next door in the printin-works. Gsw. 1985 James Kelman A Chancer 278:
Joe glanced at Eric: He's winching wee Vi Wylie. wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 7:
Och, as much o' a mystery to get to the erse y
As whit yin man sees in wan wummin, or vice versy.
In fact he treats Tartuffe - noo Ah come to mention -
No unlike a lassie he wis winchin' ... Gsw. 1987 Peter Mason C'mon Geeze Yer Patter! 14:
How long's that yous pair hiv been winchin noo? How long has your relationship lasted with one another? m.Sc. 1989 Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay The Guid Sisters 35:
Oh my God, ah kent him weel! Him an me wur winshin at wan time. Edb. 1994 Gordon Legge I Love Me (Who Do You Love?) 137:
'Oh,' said Graeme, 'I've winched a Bampot.' m.Sc. 1994 John Burns in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 25:
"Is that it?" said Jock. "Are ye winchin, boy? Ower the back o the hill wi Annie Macpherson is it?" Sc. 1998 Herald (3 Feb) 19:
I try, over the weekend, to organise some of the young Hearraich for a meal out - mighty fry-up at Garfunkel's, chicken tikka at Creme de la Creme - but to no avail. They're away in Aberdeen, or working in bars, or playing football, or wenching, or whatever. Gsw. 2000 Herald (5 Jun) 15:
I knew a couple in Govan who were winching for more than 30 years because they feared that marriage might destroy their good relationship.

Hence winching night, the night of the week one does one's courting.Gsw. 1935 McArthur & Long No Mean City vii.:
“This is Thursday, winching night, is it no'?” It was Thursday, and by immemorial tradition young Glasgow goes courting on that night of the week more than on any other.

2. To kiss and cuddle; to have sexual relations (with).Gsw. 1987 Peter Mason C'mon Geeze Yer Patter! 14:
See yon racket yous two make in that close when ye're winchin, it's terrible, so it is. You make an awful noise as you kiss and cuddle in the entrance of the building.em.Sc. 1997 Ian Rankin Black & Blue (1999) 289:
' ... What happens if I get lucky winching? Are you going to want to hide beneath the bed, like a piss-pot or the fucking bogeyman?'Gsw. 1998 Alan Spence Way to Go (1999) 61:
She turned and looked at me, amused, gave a wee chuckle, kissed me on the mouth hard and quick, and again, and we were kissing for real, lingering, soft and moist and warm, me and Jeannie winching, and I wanted it not to stop.Sc. 2000 Herald (24 Mar) 9:
She told the court he wanted to go outside to "winch me".
Prosecutor Norman Ritchie asked if that meant sex and she said: "Yes." She refused and went home.