Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1920-1988
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RUNK, v.3 1. To deprive someone of all his money, possessions, etc., to make bankrupt, to clean out (n.Sc. 1825 Jam., Rnf. a.1850 Crawfurd MSS. (N.L.S.) R.53; ne.Sc., Ags., Slg., Fif. 1968). Pa.p. runkit, deprived of all one's possessions, cleaned out, rooked (ne.Sc., Fif. 1968). [rʌŋk]Abd. 1920 R. Calder Gleanings II. 12:
He cam hame clean runket.Lth. 1928 S. A. Robertson With Double Tongue 46:
Sandie had a poosie-knuckle and aye was runkit first.Ags. 1934 H. B. Cruickshank Noran Water 14:
O' peace he runkit me, Doon tae the last bawbee.Ags. 1945 Forfar Dispatch (27 Dec.):
I wiz fair runkit buyin gifts lest year.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 44:
Hades withoot an Elysium,
Blessed Isles runked o joy;
nae water o mercy washes oot memory.
2. To rob a bird's nest of its eggs (Ags. 1968).
[Prob. a conflation of Rook, v.1, and Rump. Cf. also Runt, v.1, 1.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Runk v.3". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/runk_v3>
