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: 1768, 1853-1930
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BIRST, n.3 and v. [bɪ̢̈rst, bʌrst]
1. n.
(1) Exertion beyond one's strength, producing evil consequences.Bnff. 1866 W. Gregor D.Bnff. 11:
He got a birst last hairst, an' he hiz na cowrt it yet.Bnff. 1866 W. Gregor D.Bnff. 11:
He got a birst rinnin' for the doctor, an' he lay sax ooks aifter't.
(2) A burst, rent, tear, a broken thread (Ayr. 1928). See also Bris. Lnk. a.1854 W. Watson Poems (1877) 59:
I've een a dainty packet kist, Hale seven sarks without a birst.
2. v. Pa.p. birsen (Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xix.).
(1) To burst.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 30:
My father he yeed wi' me at the first, But a' the time my heart was like to birst.Abd.(D) 1917 C. Murray Sough o' War (1918) 21:
"Deil birst them," quo' she, "I would pit them in jyle Oonless they gie owre wi' the killin' o't."
Phr. "(deil) birst their bellies, said of people gormandising; birst yer belly, said to one boasting of a large helping of something extra good" (Abd.4 1929).
(2) "To overheat" (Mry.1 1925). vbl.n. birstin.Bch.(D) 1930 P. Giles in Abd. Univ. Rev. (March) 103:
A've kent young speerity chiels never ca'ower the birstin' at they got that wy.
(3) To burst out weeping.Abd.(D) 1875 W. Alexander Life Amang my Ain Folk (1882) 199:
Keep me, 'oman, he jist birstet an' grat like a vera bairn.
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"Birst n.3, v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Sep 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/birst_n3_v>
