Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1737, 1788-1824, 1881-2000
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DONNER, v. Also don(n)ar, †donnor, †donder, daun(n)er, dannar, dunner, dunder. To daze, stun, stupefy. Gen. in ppl.adj. = dull, dazed, stupid, and often used of persons whose mental faculties are blunted by age (Ayr. 1825 Jam.2, dannard; Fif., Ayr., Dmf., Rxb. 2000s donnert; Uls. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gl. Ant. and Dwn., dundered). Also in n.Eng. dial. Gen.Sc. Also used substantivally = a fool, blockhead.Sc. 1737 Ramsay Proverbs (1776) 22:
Daffin and want of wit makes auld wives donnard.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel ii.:
I got a lick that donnerit me from a lefthanded lighterman.Sc. 1912 P.M'N.T. in Scotsman (19 Jan.):
A youth ringing a cracked half-crown piece on a shop counter said it was "a' richt," but it had a "donnert sort o' dingle" about it — not a clear or distinct sound.Sc. 2000 Herald 16 Sep 18:
Biblical retribution has wance mair dunnert us; the warnins o global warmin haenae been heedit an mair nor half the country's floodit. n.Sc. 1916 M. Maclean Roving Celt 15:
I'm grey an' auld an' donnert noo — ma fower score years an' twa Hae boo't the back.m.Sc. 1954 J. D. Scott The End of an Old Song (1990) 54:
' ... But I'm getting to be a donnert auld bodie. You know what that means? It means an old person whose wits are wandering, you know.'em.Sc. 1986 Ian Rankin The Flood 148:
"... You can't keep anything like that hidden from Matt Duncan. I'm too fly for them, you see. They think I'm dunnert." Fif. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 141:
Tak' a horn O' my rare highland whisky. 'Tis no the damag'd heady gear. That donnar, dose, or daver.Slg. 1932 W. D. Cocker Poems 137:
Dod aye! I'm fair dunner't, an' think it nae shame.m.Lth. 1788 J. Macaulay Poems 151:
Thou lazy, slounging, donart sot!Bwk. 1947 W. L. Ferguson Makar's Medley 57:
For I'm auld, and that donnart, and sune I'll be deid.Rnf. a.1810 R. Tannahill Poems (1876) 362:
But the daunert bodie's gran'faither's wig Was pu't aff on the door by a splinter.Gsw. 1987 Peter Mason C'mon Geeze Yer Patter! 60:
A've no come across sumdy as donnert as him. I've never met anyone so stupid.Lnk. 1881 A. Wardrop J. Mathison's Courtship, etc. 33:
If you're no a donart, ye micht easy ken that Johnnie an' Kirsty are ower yonder tae.Lnk. 1887 A. Wardrop Mid-Cauther Fair 13:
Hooch! here we are, deil tak' me, dondered ass.Dmf. 1810 R. H. Cromek Remains 75:
The donnort bodie croon'd right lowne.Dmf. 2000 Betty Tindal Old Mortality 13:
Ah grant that at first glence he micht hae lookit a wee bit donnert. Slk. 1999 Jules Horne in Moira Burgess and Donny O'Rourke New Writing Scotland 17: Friends and Kangaroos 59:
So this man gets nearer. Jane goes, maybe he's got lost? I go, must be gy donnert as all the shops and that are down the hill.
Hence (1) donnartness, stupidity (Sc. 1825 Jam.2); (2) ¶donneration, a "stunning" amount.(1) Sc.(E) 1913 H.P. Cameron Imit. Christ i. iii.:
Oh, graun' donnertness tae mislippen things whilk are usefu' an' necessar.(2) Sc. 1824 Blackwood's Mag. (Nov.) 592:
Even Scott — would ony mortal believe there was sic a donneration of arrogance in this waurld?
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"Donner v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/donner>
