Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1790-1836, 1920
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BIRK, v.2 To move energetically, or restlessly.Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems and Songs 39:
Away they birk, The Patron places a' sic beasts Into the kirk.Ayr. 1836 C. Lockhart Poems on Various Subjects 14:
I followed him, to Turfy's he did birk, We gat a room there seated like a kirk.Dmf. 1920 J. L. Waugh Heroes in Homespun (1921) 127:
He used to watch me gaun birkin' through the hoose mutterin' what I wad dae wi' them.
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"Birk v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Sep 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/birk_v2>
