Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1822-1873
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
SOSH, adj. [soʃ]
1. Sociable, frank, open (Sc. 1787 J. Elphinston Propriety II. 190; Lth., s.Sc. 1825 Jam.). Deriv. sosherie, sociability, conviviality, only in Galt.Ayr. 1822 Galt Entail lv.:
Preses and founder of that renowned focus of sosherie the Yarn Club.Ayr. 1823 Galt R. Gilhaize I. i.:
The monks in their conclaves of sloth and sosherie.Ayr. 1834 J. Galt Stories of Study III. 47:
Mr. Oakes, whom by this time we had become very sosh with.Sc. 1873 D. M. Ogilvy Willie Wabster 16:
I wat they were recht sonse and social; For Willie, ance he staps his crappie, Is rule-o'er-thoum and sosh and sappy.
2. (1) Of persons: plump, neat-looking, cheerful, contented (Rxb. 1825 Jam.; Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 156; Uls. 1953 Traynor); (2) of things: snug, comfortable (Ayr. 1825 Jam.; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.).
3. Sedate, sober, quiet (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 156).
4. Lazy, indolent (Lnk., Ayr. 1825 Jam.).
[A reduced form of sociable with extended meanings.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Sosh adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/sosh_adj>
