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 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

REEVE, v.³, n.³ Also reave, reive; riv (Jak.), rive. Pa.p. reft (Sc. 1710 T. Ruddiman Gl. to Douglas Aeneis). Sc. forms and usages of arch. or dial. Eng. reave (see note). [ri:v]

I. v. 1. tr., absol. and intr. with at: to tear, rend, to grab, snatch forcibly at, to rip, to plough up. Cf. Rive, v., 1. (4).Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 200:
I reft at the rock I hang be.Abd. 1826 D. Anderson Poems 7:
And now my lord without even askin' leave Compels his tenants wi' the plough to rive Farms o' your freedom.Sc. 1875 A. Hislop Bk. Sc. Anecdote 245:
With nae better weapon in his hands than the jail door — whilk he reft frae the bands.Lnl. 1890 A. M. Bisset Spring Blossoms 56:
This pairtin's like tae reeve my hert.Fif. 1894 J. W. M'Laren Tibbie and Tam 32:
She was doon on her knees reivin' awa' at the hair o' the Captain's heid.Kcb. 1895 Crocket Moss-Hags xxxii.:
Auld Noll [a dog] ruggin' an' reevin' at the hinderlands o' him.Abd. 1904 Weekly Free Press (19 March):
The brute . . . wis reevin an' plungin, at the rate o' nae allooance.Ork. 1968:
He reeved a haud o hid.

2. Of wind: to gust, blow suddenly and strongly, in ppl.adj. reevin. Cf. Eng. dial. reave, to tear off thatch, of a high wind. Deriv. reevligo, adj., in fig. sense: rash, impetuous, excitable (Ork. 1929 Marw.). For the form cf. Mirliego.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
A reevin wind, a high wind.Rxb. 1876 W. Brockie Days and Nights 3:
A tearin', reevin', thunderin, storm.

II. n. Also in Ork. deriv. from reevis. A strong wind or gale (Ork. 1929 Marw.), esp. one springing up suddenly (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), 1929 Marw.).Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928):
A riv o' wind; he cam' doon wi' a riv.