Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1788-1866, 1934-1942
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CURRAN, n. Gen.Sc. form of Eng. currant. Also found in Eng. dial. Cf. Curn, n.2 The following combs. are peculiar to Sc.:
(1) curran-bun, a kind of cake used at Christmas and New Year (Sc. 1825 Jam.2, Cai.7, Abd.9, Ags.17, Fif.10, Arg.1, Lnk.11, Kcb.1 1941); otherwise called a Black Bun, q.v.; transf. a bump or thud on the bottom when one slips and sits down forcibly (wm.Sc. 1975); (2) curran-dawd, “currant loaf or any kind of cake with fruit in it” (Abd.13 1910); (3) curran' flooer, the flowering currant, a shrub of the genus Ribes.(1) wm.Sc. [1835–37] Laird of Logan (1868) 67:
Our landlady here, wha seemed very proud about it, brought it ben, along with her curran-bun.Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems, etc. 14:
While ane augments the gladsome fees, Wi' whangs o' curran-buns an' cheese.Lnk. 1866 D. Wingate Annie Weir 58:
I got ae curran'-bun, And wee Annie Kenzie got twa, She jist slade a wee bit and got twa.(2) Abd.9 1942:
In our village the baker used to mix the oddments of dough left over from his usual tale of loaves, baps, biscuits, etc. with currants and bake as a sort of currant bun. A slice of this of generous size was sold cheap and was consequently much favoured by boys, who called it curran-dawd.(3) Ags. 1934 H. B. Cruickshank Up Noran Water 10:
The bonny-scentit crimson O' the curran' flooer.
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"Curran n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/curran>
