Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1805-1847, 1946
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‡HODGEL, n. Also hodgil, and †hodiel.
1. A dumpling made of oatmeal, fat and seasoning (Rxb. 1825 Jam.) or of flour, apples, etc. (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Cf. Hotchie.Rxb. 1805 A. Scott Poems 40:
But should a hodgil in sweet rolling gleam, Be seen to tumble in the scalding stream.Rxb. 1806 J. Hogg Poems 94:
Dumplins, hodiels, weel made up Wi' suet, spice.s.Sc. c.1830 Proc. Bwk. Nat. Club (1916) 111:
The dishes common at Kirns are first the haggis, . . . dumplings or hodgels, surrounded by greens.s.Sc. 1946 F. M. McNeill Recipes Scot. 51:
When boiling beef for broth, the farmer's wife in the Borders frequently pops in some little oatmeal dumplings called hodgils.
†2. Fig. A pompous inflated person, a coxcomb.Rxb. 1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 166:
To stick an' slash the vap'rin' hodgels.
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"Hodgel n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hodgel>
