List of English words of Scots origin
Encyclopedia
List of English words of Scots origin is a list of English language
words of Scots
origin. See also "List of English words of Scottish Gaelic origin", which contains many words which were borrowed via Highland Scots.
Blackmail
:A form of extortion carried out by the Border Reivers
, borrowed into English with less violent connotations.
blatant
Bonspiel
caddie
or caddy
canny:Also Northern English. From English can in older sense of "to know how."
clan
:Borrowed from Gaelic clann (family, stock, off-spring).
convene
:Borrowed from French convenir, from Latin convenire.
cosy
firth
:Derived from Old Icelandic fjǫrdic (see fjord
)
glamour:Meaning magic, enchantment, spell. From English grammar and Scottish gramarye (occult learning or scholarship).
gloaming
:Middle English (Scots) gloming, from Old English glomung "twilight", from OE glom
golf
glengarry
:(or Glengarry bonnet) a brimless Scottish cap with a crease running down the crown, often with ribbons at the back. Named after the title of the clan chief Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry (1771–1828), who invented it.
gumption:Common sense or shrewdness.
haiver:to babble or talk nonsense. Scottish & North English dialect.
laddie
:A boy.
lassie
:A girl.
links
:Sandy, rolling ground, from Old English hlinc (ridge).
pernickety:From pernicky.
minging:From Scots "mingin". revolting, stinking, putrid, rancid etc.
plaid:From Gaelic plaide or simply a development of ply, to fold, giving plied then plaid after the Scots pronunciation.
pony
:Borrowed from obsolete French poulenet (little foal) from Latin pullāmen.
raid
rampage
scone
:Probably from Dutch schoon.
tweed
:cloth being woven in a twilled rather than a plain pattern. from tweel
wee:small, tiny, minute.
wraith
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
words of Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
origin. See also "List of English words of Scottish Gaelic origin", which contains many words which were borrowed via Highland Scots.
Blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
:A form of extortion carried out by the Border Reivers
Border Reivers
Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo–Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. Their ranks consisted of both Scottish and English families, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality...
, borrowed into English with less violent connotations.
blatant
Bonspiel
Bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, traditionally held outdoors on a frozen freshwater loch. The word comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means league match . Though not mandatory, curling teams involved in bonspiels often wear theme costumes...
caddie
Caddy
In golf, a caddy is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin...
or caddy
canny:Also Northern English. From English can in older sense of "to know how."
clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
:Borrowed from Gaelic clann (family, stock, off-spring).
convene
Convene
Convene is an early distance learning company and currently the largest company in that market. The software company was founded in the late 1980s by Larry Allen when he created collaborative seminary training programs. Although Convene still has collaborative software for use by some 15,000...
:Borrowed from French convenir, from Latin convenire.
cosy
firth
Firth
Firth is the word in the Lowland Scots language and in English used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland and England. In mainland Scotland it is used to describe a large sea bay, or even a strait. In the Northern Isles it more usually refers to a smaller inlet...
:Derived from Old Icelandic fjǫrdic (see fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
)
glamour:Meaning magic, enchantment, spell. From English grammar and Scottish gramarye (occult learning or scholarship).
gloaming
Twilight
Twilight is the time between dawn and sunrise or between sunset and dusk, during which sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the earth is neither completely lit nor completely dark. The sun itself is not directly visible because it is below...
:Middle English (Scots) gloming, from Old English glomung "twilight", from OE glom
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
glengarry
Glengarry
The glengarry bonnet is a traditional boat-shaped hat without a peak made of thick-milled woollen material with a toorie on top, a rosette cockade on the left, and ribbons hanging down behind...
:(or Glengarry bonnet) a brimless Scottish cap with a crease running down the crown, often with ribbons at the back. Named after the title of the clan chief Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry (1771–1828), who invented it.
gumption:Common sense or shrewdness.
haiver:to babble or talk nonsense. Scottish & North English dialect.
laddie
Boy
A boy is a young male human , as contrasted to its female counterpart, girl, or an adult male, a man.The term "boy" is primarily used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions or both...
:A boy.
lassie
Girl
A girl is any female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood. The term may also be used to mean a young woman.-Etymology:...
:A girl.
links
Links (golf)
A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect...
:Sandy, rolling ground, from Old English hlinc (ridge).
pernickety:From pernicky.
minging:From Scots "mingin". revolting, stinking, putrid, rancid etc.
plaid:From Gaelic plaide or simply a development of ply, to fold, giving plied then plaid after the Scots pronunciation.
pony
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
:Borrowed from obsolete French poulenet (little foal) from Latin pullāmen.
raid
rampage
scone
Scone (bread)
The scone is a small Scottish quick bread especially popular in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,Belgium and Ireland, but are also eaten in many other countries. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent...
:Probably from Dutch schoon.
tweed
Tweed (cloth)
Tweed is a rough, unfinished woolen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern...
:cloth being woven in a twilled rather than a plain pattern. from tweel
wee:small, tiny, minute.
wraith