Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

WALY, int., n., v. Also walie, wall(e)y. [′wɑle, ′wǫle, ′wele]

I. int. As an exclamation of sorrow: alas!, woe is me!, oh dear! (Per., Ayr. 1915–23 Wilson). Also in n.Eng. dial. Also in expanded form walleyfu, by a misunderstanding of the phr. in II.Sc. 1726 Ramsay T.-T. Misc. (1876) I. 179:
O waly, waly up the bank, And waly, waly down the brae.
Edb. 1828 M. & M. Corbett Tales & Leg. III. 34:
My mistress thought it was the collies had done a' the mischief, and she cried ben to us, “Oh, walleyfu', walleyfu', thae wearyfu' dogs!”
Peb. 1847 R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes 182:
Deuk's dub afore the door — There fell I! A' the lave cried ‘Waly! waly!' But I cried ‘Feigh, fye!'
Bnff. 1869 W. Knight Auld Yule 72:
My couthie mate, oh, waly! now Hae I mair cause for joy than thou?
Edb. 1894 J. W. M'Laren Tibbie and Tam 41:
But walie! the sicht gar'd even puir Baudrons jump nearly four feet wi' fricht.
Fif. 1895 S. Tytler Kincaid's Widow xviii.:
Waly! that her waefu' weird should be that of the ‘headed Queen's Marie.'

II. n. from I. used subst. in phrs., esp. in ballad usage: (1) the walie o't, the pity of it!; (2) waly fa- and in tautological forms walyfu, wal(l)ifou fa-, woe betide —, devil take —, a plague on —; (3) waly is —, woe is —, Cf. Weary, n.(1) Sc. 1824 Earl of Errol in Child Ballads (1956) IV. 290:
The wally o't, the wally o't.
(2) Abd. c.1760 J. Skinner Amusements (1809) 98:
But that camsteary what-d'ye-caw't (I think it's genius, walie fa't).
Sc. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs II. 214:
O waly fu fa the cat! For she has bred muckle wanease.
Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 53:
A wally fa' me gin I kend ye.
Ayr. 1795 Burns News, Lasses iii.:
Waly fa' the ley-crap, For I maun till'd again.
Sc. 1819 Jacobite Relics (Hogg) I. 37:
Walyfu' fa' the time Whan Willie the wag came here!
Sc. 1824 Eppie Morrie in Child Ballads No. 223 xiv.:
Wally fa you, Willie, That ye could nae prove a man.
(3) Sc. a.1820 Heiress of Northumberland in Child Ballads (1956) V. 208:
Waly's my love wi' the life that she wan.

III. v. Nonce reduplic. form in vbl.n. wally-wallying, lamentation. Cf. Galt's similar usage of Walawa, v.Ayr. 1821 Galt Annals xvii.:
Such a wally-wallying as the news of this caused at every door.

[Prob. a reduced form of Walawa.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Waly interj., n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/waly>

28881

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: