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.
SOUTH, n., v.2 Also sooth(e), sowth. [sʌuθ, suθ]
I. n. Sotto voce singing or whistling, a low murmur (of music), quiet humming.Ayr. 1723 Ayr Presb. Reg. MS. (15 Jan.) 146:
She heard James Slowan sing the sooth of a song.Ayr. 1788 J. Lapraik Poems 51:
It [cold] stops the growth, And makes the Ewes, with their young Lambs, Sing a poor south!Kcb. 1909 Crockett Rose of the Wilderness xxi.:
Blinking off again to sleep to the drowsy “sooth” of that melody.
II. v. tr. To hum, sing or whistle softly (s.Sc. 1880; Abd., Kcd., Ags. 1971).Ayr. 1785 Burns's Wks. (Douglas) IV. 96:
To south the tune, as our Scotch phrase is, over and over, is the readiest way to catch the inspiration.wm.Sc. 1843 Whistle-Binkie (1890) II. 168:
Aye whoo ye, whoo, whoo ye, sowth'd Whistlin' Tam.Abd. 1885 J. Scorgie Flittin' Noo 60:
I sowth'd a versie o' a sang.Sc. 1889 Stevenson M. Ballantrae ix.:
These verses were sung (or rather “soothed”) to me by a master-singer.Ags. 1934 H. B. Cruickshank Noran Water 12:
[He] tak's the fiddle frae the wa' An' soothes an auld-warld tune.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"South n., v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/south_n_v2>