Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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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: 1897-1994
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SKREED, v., n. Also skreid, skried, skräid, skrid(e), scride, skreethe, skrythe, scrithe, skruith, skruth-; scrae, skre, skry; ¶scrive. [Sh. skri:d, skrɑed, skre; Ork., Cai. — ð, Ork. + skrið, skrɑe]
I. v. intr. To swarm, to teem, crowd together in large numbers, flock, of persons, fish, etc. (Sh. 1825 Jam., 1866 Edm. Gl., 1908 Jak. (1928); Ork. 1929 Marw.; Sh., Ork., Cai. 1970); to be infested with vermin or other pests (Id.). Ppl.adj. skreethin, skrythan, plentiful, abundant (Cai. 1965).Sh. 1898 Shetland News (27 Aug.):
As for kokrochies! der juist skridin'.Sh. 1904 E.D.D.:
Tammus Gimmer was fairly scridin' wi' kids.Cai.4 c.1920:
The place is scrivan wi' mice.Ork. 1929 Peace's Almanac 137:
Sae might I trive, de hade buist be skrythin.Ork. 1994 George Mackay Brown Beside the Ocean of Time 45:
Rats were scrithing among the ribs of Seamus the horse.
II. n. A swarm of small living objects, a creeping mass, of animals or things, a shoal, pack, crowd, pile, large number, freq. contemptuously (Sh. a.1838 Jam. MSS. xii. 200, 1908 Old-Lore Misc. I. viii. 315, skrae, 1914 Angus Gl., skried; Ork. 1929 Marw., skry; I.Sc., Cai. 1970). Deriv. skruthy [′srkʌði], id. (Marw.).Sh. 1897 Shetland News (17 July):
Der a scride o' scarfs aboot da shore dis saeson.Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 39:
Old people spoke of having seen numbers of puny beings dancing around a fairy knowe. These were spoken of as a "scrac o' henkies."Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928):
A skrid o' livin' tings, o' taaties. A skre o' bairns, o' hens, o' sporrows.Sh. 1950 New Shetlander No. 20. 12:
Sikk a skreed a fokk is apo da Shore.
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"Skreed v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/skreed>
