Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 2000
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1]
SKIVE, v.2 To shave, pare, slice off a thin layer (ne.Sc., Ags., em.Sc.(b), Lnk. 1970); to whittle a piece of wood (Ork. 1929 Marw.). Derivs. skivalt, a thin layer, esp. of skin (Id.), skiverek, a thin piece of turf pared off the top of a peat-bank in preparation for cutting the peats (Sh. 1962). [skɑev]em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 181:
' ... It will be a new and better life, an eternal life. Did ye ken, sir, they kept me in chains in the Tolbooth mair than a twalmonth? Can ye think whit like that is? The iron bands skive the skin aff ye till ye're raw tae the banes. Ye wouldna see a dug treatit sae ill. ... '
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Skive v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/skive_v2>
