Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1707-1736, 1790-1931
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BAUCH, BAUGH, adj. Also bawk. 1–4 Gen.Sc. [bɑ(:)x, bǫ:x Sc.; bɑux s.Sc.]
1. Indifferent, sorry, feeble.Sc. 1736 Ramsay Proverbs (1776) 10:
Beauty but Bounty's but bauch.Abd. 1790 A. Shirrefs Gloss. 4:
Bauch, sorry, indifferent.Ags.(D) 1922 J. B. Salmond Bawbee Bowden vi.:
Weel, I'm no' sayin' but the kirk's bauch eneuch whiles.Fif. 1862 St Andrews Gaz. (8 Aug.):
I hae often seen that thae smart laddies often turn oot bawk enough men, while the canny, sober-lookin' anes as often turned oot men o' sterlin' wisdom an' ability.Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin (1868) iv.:
An unco baugh, barren an' uninterestin' portion o' human life.
2. Of ice: affected by thaw; not slippery.Dmf. 1830 R. Brown (ed.) Lochmaben Curling Society Memorabilia Curliana Mabensia 46:
To be properly equipped, however, all curlers should be provided with two sets of stones, one certainly not above 35 lbs. for baugh ice; the other from 45 to 50 for keen.
3. Of an instrument: blunt, dull or turned on the edge (n.Sc. 1825 Jam.2; also Abd.9 1933).Edb. 1801 J. Thomson Poems 137:
Your razors, man, were baugh indeed, An' they o' sharpin' had great need.
4. Backward, bashful, timid, sheepish, foolish.Sc. 1728 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd Act III. Sc. iv.:
Without Estate A Youth, tho' sprung frae Kings, looks baugh and blate.Bnff. 1929 Knappies at the Rural in Bnffsh. Jnl. (1 Oct.):
Efter I pat teeth on the first scone, I forgot to be bauch.Abd.(D) 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxxi.:
But my opingan is that he's been aye owre bauch in's nain beheef.Ags. 1819 J. Ross Angus-shire Chaplet 33:
The French were baugh on Aspern haugh An' thousands owre did fa', man.Per. 1895 R. Ford Tayside Songs 272:
Sae rare the smile forsook my mou', 'Twas vow'd I was a bauch ane.wm.Sc. 1882 Anon. Want o' Siller in Songs and Ballads of Clydesd. (ed. A. Nimmo) 216:
But nane wad tent the puir baugh chiel — There's nought for me but black starvation.
5. Weak, tired, exhausted, seedy.Sc. c.1707 Jacobite Minstrelsy (1829) 40:
The auld wise man grew baugh, And turn'd to shank away.Ags. 1931 J. D. Simpson in Abd. Press and Jnl. (15 Jan.):
Bauch. . . . The word is also used to describe that feeling of malaise which is otherwise known as "seedy."Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales, etc. (1837) IV. 87:
"What ails thee, honest lad, that thou looks sae baugh?" said the auld wife.
Phrase: to get the bauch, to grow sick (Edb.2 1933).
[O.Sc. (D.O.S.T.) has bauch, bawch, baich, bach = (1) ineffective, weak; (2) of strokes given with something blunt as a cudgel; (3) unsavoury. The last is now gen. replaced by Wauch. Cf. O.N. bāgr, uneasy, poor, hard up, and O.N. bagr, awkward, clumsy.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Bauch adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bauch_adj>
