Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

ODDLE, n. Also odle. A sewer (Ork. 1845 Stat. Acc.² XV. 96). Hence od(d)ler, a drainage gutter in a byre (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Ork. 1929 Marw.; Sh., Ork. 1964). See also Oller. Comb.: oddle-hole, the hole in the wall of a byre through which the drainage from the gutter runs (Cai.³ 1931).Ork. 1911 J. Omond 80 Years Ago 16:
Behind them [cattle] is a drain 18 inches wide by 1 foot deep, called the sesters odler, or odle, which runs the liquid manure by a small square hole opposite to it in the east gable, into the midden.Ork. 2005:
The aald wife slipped and fell in the oddle and her claes got covered wi iper.