Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1776-1824, 1901-1927
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DOIL, n.2 Also doyl, dile. Sorrow.Bnff. 1927 E. S. Rae Hansel fae Hame 24:
I was bred faur the body kens nae want An' the sowl kens nae dile.
Hence 1. doilsome, gloomy, mournful; 2. doylach, -och, a stupid or crazy person.1. Cai. 1776 Weekly Mag. (25 Jan.) 145:
An' whistlin' by December's doilsome day, While Phœbus an' the spring are far away.2. Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 375:
The which son [of Paul Jones] yet lives. but is ratherly a doyloch.Gall. 1901 Trotter Gall. Gossip 60:
There wus a kin o' a doylach they ca't Gib M'Jiltroch . . . an they made him President.
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"Doil n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/doil_n2>
