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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CLAP, KLAP, v. Also clapp; †clep; ‡clype. Sc. meanings of Eng. clap. [klɑp]

1. To pat affectionately, caressingly, approvingly (a gentler and more loving action than Eng. clap). Gen.Sc.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 182:
May Rowth o' Pleasures light upon ye lang, Till to the blest Elysian Bowers ye gang; Wha've clapt my Head sae brawly for my Sang.Bnff.(D) 1918 J. Mitchell Bydand 10:
She clappit him, an' straiket him, an' kisst im ower the croon.m.Sc. a.1846 A. Rodger Poems (1897) 133:
She claps the collie, dauts the cat, Flings moolins to the doos.em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 33:
The minister clapped James's head. 'He thinks you are the cause o his punishment. But ye're no. ... 'Edb. 1995 Irvine Welsh Marabou Stork Nightmares (1996) 153:
... the beast took this as his cue to relax and wag his tail. He gave me his head to clap and jumped up on his hind legs with his front ones resting on the kitchen worktop. wm.Sc. 1965 Alan Sharp A Green Tree in Gedde (1985) 362:
He closed his eyes at the touch and brought his face close to her shoulder so that her hand went round on to his back, where by some instinct it began to clap him, just behind the shoulder blade, a slow heartbeat clapping that comforted her as much as it appeared to comfort him. wm.Sc. 1995 Alan Warner Morvern Callar 171:
... bye Woofit, I goes, kneeling and giving the dog a good clapping round the ears. wm.Sc. 2000 Liz Lochhead Medea 11:
nothing personal I have to hunt you
raither that than clap you like a pussycat the now. Gsw. 1987 James Kelman Greyhound for Breakfast (1988) 210:
He reached to clap the dog, smoothed along its muzzle. w.Dmf. 1908 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo (1912) ii.:
And [he] clappit her on the shooder.

2. To press down, flatten (Abd.², Lnk.³, Kcb.⁹ 1937); “to prepare linen clothes for being mangled or ironed” (Sc. 1825 Jam.²; Edb.³ 1929); given in N.E.D. as “chiefly north.”; “to press down food cooking in a pot” (Edb.³ 1929); to expel buttermilk from butter by pressing (Cai.⁷ 1937); to beat down, compress or consolidate (soil); hence transf. to beat the earth down on, bury (Sh. 1975); specif. clap a piece, to make a sandwich (Bnff., Edb., Dmf. 2000s). Also clappit piece (Abd 1978).Sc. 1776 Weekly Mag. (26 Dec.) 13:
Always burning and paring, which must needs clap the ground, and render it good for nothing. Sc. 1807 Prize Essays and Trans. Highl. Soc. Scot. III. 420:
A sheep was observed . . . to be affected with braxy. . . . The wool was not clapped, but the eye was languid.Abd. 1978:
Will I clap a piece for you? Abd. 1998 Sheena Blackhall The Bonsai Grower 17:
Auld Dod's ae loon, Francie, wis forty year the junior, wi blaik hair clappit teetle his heid wi Brylcreem ... Ags. 1892 A. Reid Howetoon 84:
"We'll never ken what we really are till we're clappit." The remark, with its suggestive savour of the sexton's gruesome office, is too profound for me.s.Sc. 1838 Wilson's Tales of the Borders IV. 170:
Reading grave-stanes, or laughing and chatting thegither, after the body was clappit down.

Ppl.adj. clappit, with doun: dispirited, depressed.Slg.³ 1937:
He was sair clappit doun.

Combs. and deriv.: (1) clap-dyke, -ditch, a turf or earth wall, formed of sods or clay soil beaten together; (2) clapper, a pounder or mallet made of stone. (1) Sc. 1992 Scotsman 26 Sep 3:
You will recognise them [white settlers] by their strident self-confidence, their patronising enthusiasm for "the local community" and their vociferous omniscience - they know everything, from the history of local clap-dykes to the last nesting place of the Greater Two-tongued Tit.Abd. 1982 Robin Callander Drystane Dyking in Deeside 84:
Clap dyke: earthen dyke so called as 'clapped' with spade to make it solid.Edb. 1781 Session Papers, Petition J. Johnston (19 Jan.) Proof 12:
The manner that the best clapp-dykes are usually made in the country. Dmb. 1794 D. Ure Agric. Dmb. 20:
This earth dyke is commonly four feet broad at the base, and from three to five feet high. They are usually called clap-dykes, because they are clapped with a spade, to make them solid. Lnk. 1794 J. Naismith Agric. Cld. 56:
The most common mode of enclosing is with ditches, pretty generally known by the name of clap ditches, having a row of white thorn plants laid, in the face of the mound formed of the earth taken out of the ditch. Dmf. 1808 Farmer's Mag. (Dec.) 469:
A clap-dike with a hedge and ditch are not sufficient for the first five years. (2) Sh. 1897 P.S.A.S. (1897-8) 29:
It is called a clapper, and that it is known to have been used in recent times for beating down and forcing into position the turf coping of dry-stone dykes, and that it is believed to have been made for that purpose.

3. To flop, “to couch, to lie down; generally applied to a hare in regard to its form or seat; and conveying the idea of the purpose of concealment” (Per. 1825 Jam.²; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); to draw the limbs or other parts of the body closer together, to fold the wings, etc. Gen.Sc. Ppl.adj. clappit. Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928):
He klapped him doon i' de muckle chair.Ags. 1871 Kirriemuir Observer (1 Dec.) 3/3:
Juist imagine till yersel ane o' the dear creturs clappin doon on her knees.Rnf. 1832–1901 R. Craig in Poems and Ballads of Kilbarchan (ed. C. P. Lyle 1929) 49:
Wearying for a resting place, Doun on the steeple stairs I clappit.Ayr. 1843 J. Stirrat Poems (1869) 44:
And keeps me flitchering in life's prime, Wi' clappit wings.Kcb. 1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders vii.:
“Here's a hidie hole for ye, young Rathan,” said Silver Sand. . . . “Clap close and bide till Quharrie an' me comes for ye!”Kcb. 1897 Crockett Lads' Love xix.:
[A hare] scoorin' the field in the gloamin' wi' her lugs clappit and legs like a racer.Kcb., Dmf. 1988 W. A. D. and D. Riach A Galloway Glossary :
clap 2. to crouch, hide.

4. To adhere, cling, to press (against) (Fif.¹⁰, Lnk.³, Kcb.⁹ (of inanimate objects) 1937); intr. to shrink, shrivel, contract (Sh. 1975).Abd. a.1812 W. Walker Bards (1887) 367:
Yet his claes became him fine, Nae clypit duds like yours an' mine.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 133:
The Clerk's [breeches] . . . cannilie, unto his thies, Did circumjack and clap!Edb. 1865 M. Barr Poems 68:
Her cheeks, sae plump an' round a', Clapt an' grew as white as snaw.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 137:
They clepped round the stobbs like partons, and prayed.

Hence clappit, ppl.adj., having the flesh clinging to the bones (used of ill-fed persons or animals; shrunken (Bnff.², Abd.⁹, Fif.¹⁰ 1937); flabby (Abd. 1825 Jam.²). Also clapped-in (Fif., Edb., Rxb. 2000s). Sc. 1936 J. G. Horne Ftooer o' the Ling 12:
Twa billies on the hunt for wark . . . Gaed sloatchin up a ferm-toon road, Baith clappit sair an' gey ill shod.Edb. 1822 R. Wilson Poems 31:
Ae day, a horse gaun to the dogs, Wi' lang howe back an' hingin' lugs, Stiff hirplin legs, big greasy heels, An' clappit sides like turnip dreels.Edb. 1992:
She looked that clapped in efter she had aw her teeth oot. Arg. 1993:
His face is a clapped in. Gsw. 1985 Michael Munro The Patter 16:
clapped-in Sunken, said of the face or jaws: 'I doubt he's no well; his face is awful clapped-in lookin.' 'That taste would clap yer jaws in.' Ayr. 1996:
A clappit face.sm.Sc. 1988 W. A. D. and D. Riach A Galloway Glossary :
clappit 1. thin, drawn.