Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1898
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
VARLESS, adj. Also varlos (Jak.), varaless (Sh. 1962); irreg. form vaalass. [′vɑrləs]
1. Inattentive, careless (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Sh. 1973). Cf. Vaur.Sh. 1898 Shetland News (22 Jan.):
He's set doon 1897 in place o' 1898. . . . He wis awfil varless dat wye.
2. Awkward, fumbling, clumsy (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., vaaless, 1908 Jak. (1928), Sh. 1973).
[Appar. Sh. Norn, Norw. var, vigilant, attentive, wary (see Vaar, n., Vair, adj.) + -less, suff. In 2., there may be some confusion with Vaalen, 2.]
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Varless adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/varless>
