Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1818-1879, 1988
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SWOOF, v., n. Also swouff. [swuf]
I. v. 1. intr. To make a rustling swishing sound, as the wind, a bird in flight, etc., to make one's way with a whirring noise, as of wings (Sh. 1972).Slk. 1818 Hogg B. of Bodsbeck xii.:
O furnish him this night wi' the wings o' the wild gainner or the eagle, that he may swoof away back to a better hame.Sc. 1832 Chambers's Jnl. (March) 57:
Something seeming to swoof down the stairs, like the noise of a full garment brushing the walls of a narrow passage.Abd. 1836 J. Grant Tales of Glens 251:
The cauld winds did swoof through the rifted roof.Bwk. 1879 W. Chisholm Poems 19:
When the wak'nin' hoolets cam' doon To swoof thro' the air wi' an eerie soon'.em.Sc. 1988 James Robertson in Joy Hendry Chapman 52 72:
He clautit it out wi his nail, and wis haudin it up tae the licht lik a medal atween his fingers, whan a muckle sea-maw swouffed doun an cleiked it awa in its neb.
2. tr. To hum, sing softly under the breath.Sc. 1828 Blackwood's Mag. (Nov.) 561:
Ane holie sawme sung ower myne heide, And swoofit with my last brethe.
II. n. A swishing, blowing sound (Sh. 1972).
[O.Sc. suofe, to breathe softly in sleep, 1590, prob. a variant of Souch, but formally partly onomat. and partly influenced by Sowff.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Swoof v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/swoof>
