Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
LEET, v.2, n.3 Also leit (Jam.), lit; leyt (Cai.); leed (Ork.). Pa.t. leeted. [lit]
I. v. 1. To make to appear, to pretend.n.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
He's no sa daft as he leets.
2. (1) To give a sign that one knows or is taking notice; to heed, to pay attention, to regard, listen to, absol., tr. or with to, after, at, and esp. common in imper. phr. never leet, noor (Cai.) — (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 194; Ork. 1922 J. Firth Reminisc. 153, leed; I.Sc., Cai. 1960); to listen surreptitiously, to eavesdrop (Ork. 1930); (2) To esteem, consider. (1)Abd. 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems ix.:
For deeply i' my heart I'll leet ye, 'Till i' my grave.Fif. 1805 J. Fleming Poems 69:
Some blades were clashin' country says An' some were never litan.m.Lth. 1822 R. Wilson Poems 41:
To
buirdly chields they only hecht Four pounds forbye their vittle, Wha
grummle sair at sic a sight, An' leit it far owre little.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 6:
Minny a randy word said he tae the laird, takin' him a' the time for a wife; bit the laird niver leeted a word o' his heid.Sh. 1892 G. Stewart Fireside Tales 246:
[I] tauld him never to leet.Ork. 1908 Old-Lore Misc. I. viii. 317:
Da common galloos wadna leed tae me, bit jeust pat me doon for id.Cai. 1930 John o' Groat Jnl. (21 Feb.) 2:
Oh, never leyt 'boot time an' hoo it flees!Ork. 1956 C. M. Costie Benjie's Bodle 120:
This teel cam' at last tae the leetan lugs o' Mr. Rankin.Abd. 1993:
I cut ma finger bit nivver leet, it's nae sair.(2)Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 223:
She never leeted after me Mair than I had been a caird.
3. To make mention, pass on information, let out (a secret or the like) (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Sh., Ags., Fif., Lth. 1960).Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin xxvi.:
Never leet that I was i' the garret!Sh. 1915 Old-Lore Misc. VIII. I. 61:
He rakid his bridder, Sjhorm, wi' a nudge a side, leetan till 'im: “Boy! wauken, d'er bokies a but-end!”Fif. 1916 G. Blaik Rustic Rhymes 99:
An' some had planned, tho' didna leet.Sh. 1952 J. Hunter Taen wi da Trow 230:
Dis he leetit ta da Aesir He wis faert he shün wid dee.
4. To ooze, to leak, drip out slowly as of serum or other discharge from the surface of the body (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Fif. 1825 Ib.), to discharge pus (Dmb. 1960).
II. n. The serous discharge from a wound or sore (Uls. 1953 Traynor); “an unseemly mass of a liquid or semi-liquid substance” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 104). Also deriv. leetach (Ib.). Cf. v., 4.
[O.Sc. lete, to pretend, c.1470, to declare, avow, c.1420, a variant of Lat, to let (out), in various derivative senses, which keeps the orig. long vowel, the normal development, from O.E. lǣtan, to let. See note to Lat, v.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Leet v.2, n.3". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/leet_v2_n3>
