Scots Tongue

Scotland Map
Purple Dot Scottish Pronunciation
Purple Dot Scottish Words
Purple Dot Scottish Given Names
Purple Dot Scottish Family Names
Purple Dot Scottish Place Names
Warning This is an informal guide to the Scots tongue for the benefit of occasional visitors to Scotland. It makes no claims to be authoritative, complete or accurate.

Scottish Pronunciation

The major regions in Scotland (e.g. Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife, Inverness) have their own distinct accents and dialect words. See, for example, the Glasgow Patter books by Michael Munro (Holmes McDougall, Glasgow). Many older words survive thanks to the poetry of Robert Burns and others. Only words in general use are included below. There are dictionaries of Scottish words; for example, see the Concise Scots Dictionary (Aberdeen University Press). The following web links may also be useful:

Sound/Word Pronunciation
ch This is an aspirated ‘k’ sound as in the German ‘ach’.
Gaelic This celtic language spoken in Scotland (‘Gàidhlig’) has a whole range of sounds that can be learned only by hearing them.
glottal stop In some areas of Scotland (e.g. Glasgow), the final ‘t’ of a word is not pronounced. Instead the throat is closed to cut the word off. Thus ‘bit’ might sound more like ‘bih’ (with a short and truncated vowel), or ‘water’ as ‘wa-er’.
Milngavie A town near Glasgow whose pronunciation is commonly used to confuse visitors (‘Mil-guy’ or ‘Mul-guy’).
-ing The final ‘g’ is often elided (e.g. ‘walking’ sounds like ‘walkin’).
qu This is silent in some proper names (e.g. Colquhoun = ‘Co-hoon’).
stress The pattern of stress is usually that of English, but in some proper names the last syllable is stressed (e.g. Dun-bar, Dun-lop).
r This is rolled on the tongue.
z This is silent in some proper names (e.g. Culzean = ‘Cul-ain’, Dalziel = ‘Dee-el’, Menzies = ‘Ming-is’).

Scottish Words

A visitor to Scotland is most likely to come across standard English pronounced in the local fashion. However Scotland has its own distinct language, with similar roots to English but also affinities to Scandinavian languages. The following list gives some sample Scottish words. (Some of these have other meanings.) Some words are likely to be used only in Scotland, and some are mostly known to English speakers in general.

Scottish English
a' all
aboot about
agin against
Aberdonian of/from Aberdeen
-ae ‘have’ as a suffix to a verb (widae = would have)
Ah I
aff off
ain own
aglae awry
ain own
an and
ane one
Athol brose sweet oatmeal dessert
auld old
Auld Reekie nickname for Edinburgh
aw all
awa away
awfu, awfy awfully
bairn child
bannock biscuit or scone
bauchle worn-out shoe (literally), an old and dishevelled man (figuratively)
baw ball
baw heid bald head
bawbee an old penny
ben mountain
ben inside (e.g. ‘cam ben the hoose’)
besom difficult woman
bile boil (e.g. ‘Awa an bile yer heid!’ = ‘Get lost!’)
birl spin
blae blue
blether (idle) chatter
boak vomit
body person (e.g. ‘Whit's a body tae dae?’)
bonnie, bonny beautiful
brae slope
braw fine
bridie meat in pastry pie
brose broth (e.g. made using oatmeal)
bumfle bump or raised area (in cloth)
burn stream
but and ben cottage
ca(w) call
ca(w) canny be careful
caber a log used in the traditional game of ‘tossing the caber’
cam came
canny careful
cauld cold
caw drive, turn (e.g. rope, wheel)
claes clothes
claymore the traditional Scottish broad sword (‘Gaelic claidheamh mhor’ - great sword)
cock-a-leekie chicken and leek soup
coo cow
coup, cowp tumble
crabbit ill-tempered
croft(er) small-scale farm(er)
crowdie curd cheese
cud could
dae do
deid dead
de'il devil
doo dove (or pigeon)
dook duck (in the sense of wetting - ‘dooking for apples’ is a Halloween game involving placing your face into a basin of water to retrieve a floating apple by biting on it)
doon down (‘doon the water’ is a trip down the Clyde)
dram small quantity of whisky
dreep drip (also used of dropping off a wall)
dreich miserable, cold and wet (weather)
drookit dripping wet
Dundonian of/from Dundee
dunt bump
dyke wall
een eyes
eejit idiot
efter after
fair somewhat (e.g. ‘fair taken wi’)
fair (fortnight) traditional summer holiday period in Glasgow (the second two weeks of July, e.g. ‘where are ye gaun fur the fair?’)
faither father
fankle (twisted) mess
fash bother (‘dinnae fash yersel’ = don't bother yourself)
feart afraid
first foot the first visitor in the New Year (who, for good luck, should be handsome and bring a gift)
firth estuary
footer nuisance
footer about mess about
forby(e) besides
frae from
frein friend
fu full (also, drunk)
fur for
gae, gang go
gallus daring
(stupid) galoot idiot
gaun going
get het up become agitated
gey rather
girn complain, cry (e.g. of child)
glaikit stupid, glazed (expression)
Glescae Glasgow
Glaswegian of/from Glasgow
glaur mire
gloaming dusk
glen valley
gowk fool
greet weep
guid good
hae have
haggis pudding made from minced meat (offal) and oatmeal
hame home
hauf half
haver talk nonense
Havers! Nonsense!
haud hold (‘Haud yer wheesht!’ = ‘Shut up!’)
hauf half
haugh meadow by a river
heavy dark beer
heid head
hen vocative term for a woman (e.g. ‘It's aw richt, hen’), or a general term of endearment for anyone
hert heart
het heated
Hielan Highland
high heid yin high-up person in organisation
hing hang (‘hingin oot the windae’ is street-watching from one's window)
Hogmanay New Year's Eve
hoose house
Hoots! Well then!
hough shank of meat
howf(f) inn
howk dig
huv have
-icht -ight (e.g. nicht, richt)
ilka every
intae into
-it -ed (e.g. ‘wantit’ = ‘wanted’)
ither other
Jimmy, Jock generic term for a man (e.g. ‘Hey there, Jimmy!’)
Jings! Gosh!
keek look
ken know
kirk church
laddie boy
laldy thrashing
lang long
lassie girl
loch lake
loup leap
lum chimney (e.g. ‘lang may your lum reek’ = may you always be prosperous enough to have fuel)
ma my
mair more
merrit married
midden rubbish heap
mind remember (e.g. ‘dae ye mind him?’)
mither mother
mon vocative term for a man (e.g. ‘Whit're ye daeing, mon?’)
Mon! My!
mony many
moose mouse
mooth mouth
-na, -nae ‘no’, or ‘not’ as a suffix to a verb (dinna = don't, wisnae = wasn't)
neep turnip
ne'er never
Ne'erday New Year's Day
neuk corner
no not
noo now (e.g. ‘Ah'm gaun oot the noo’)
o of
Och! Well!
-ocht -ought (e.g. bocht, thocht)
ony any
oor our
oot out
ower over, rather
oxter armpit
palaver fuss
pairt part
puddin pudding
puggle tire out (e.g. ‘fair puggled’ = ‘rather worn out’
pun pound
rammy noisy fight
rid red
sae so
sair sore (‘a sair fecht’ = ‘a sore fight’ means something problematic)
Sassenach an Englishman (‘Saxon’)
scunner nuisance
see consider (e.g. ‘see they computers’, prior to making some negative remark)
-sel -self (e.g. ‘hissel’ = ‘himself’)
sgian dubh a knife often worn decoratively with Highland dress (Gaelic for ‘black knife’)
shoogle shake
skelp smack
slater woodlouse
smirr fine rain (noun and verb)
snaw snow
Special a commercial beer
spurtle wooden spoon
stank drain
stane stone
stoat bounce (heavy rain is said to stoat off the ground)
stoor dust
stramash commotion
stravaig wander about
tae to
tak take
tattie potato
Teuchter Highlander (often pejorative)
Tartan a commercial beer
they those (e.g. ‘see they computers’)
toun town
tak take
thirl bind, pierce
thole endure
thrawn perverse
toon/toun town
toty tiny
(Edinburgh) trades traditional summer holiday period in Edinburgh (the first two weeks of July)
trauchle trouble
twa two
wabbit pale and weak (as after illness or exertion)
wain child
wan one
wean child
wee small
wee heavy strong beer (barley wine)
wha who
wham whom
whaur where
Wheesht! Quiet!
whit what
wi' with
wid, wud would
wifie (old) woman
wis, wus was
wull will
ye you
yer your
yin one

Scottish Given Names

Some Scottish given (Christian) names derive from the Gaelic while others are native. Here are some common examples:

Forename Equivalent
Alasdair English ‘Alastair’ or ‘Alexander’
Andra English ‘Andrew’
Calum English ‘Malcolm’
Christina Gaelic ‘Cairistiona’
Dauvit English ‘David’
Donald Gaelic ‘Domhnal’
Dougal/Dugal Gaelic ‘Dugall’, English ‘Dugald’
Duncan Gaelic ‘Donnchadh’
Fergus Gaelic ‘Fearghus’
Fiona Gaelic ‘Fionnuala’
Flora Gaelic ‘Floraidh’
Hendrie English ‘Henry’
Iain English ‘Ian’
Kenneth Gaelic ‘Coinneach’
Kirsten English ‘Christine’
Lachlan Gaelic ‘Lachlann’
Mairead English ‘Marion’
Maìri English ‘Mary’
Morag English ‘Marion’
Niall English ‘Neil’
Rab/Rabbie English ‘Robert’
Seumas English ‘James’
Tam English ‘Tom’

Scottish Family Names

Scottish family names (surnames) often have the prefix ‘Mac' or ‘Mc' meaning ‘son of'. Telephone directories and the like often list these together; it can be hard to remember if someone is ‘MacLean' or ‘McLean', for example. Some family names derive from Scottish towns (e.g. Cowie, Glasgow, Stirling). Here are a very few examples of Scottish surnames (apart from the ‘Mac/Mc' forms):

Surname
Baird
Blair
Buchanan
Campbell
Ferguson
Fraser
Gilmore/Gilmour
Muir
Scott
Stewart/Stuart
Wylie

Scottish Place Names

Place names in Scotland often have common prefixes, many derived from Gaelic. Ordinary words like ‘ben' and ‘glen' also appear frequently in names.

Prefix Meaning
Ard- point
Auchen- field
Auchter- top of
Drum- ridge
Dun- hill or fort
Inch- island
Inver- at the mouth of a river
Kil- cell of a saint
Kinloch- at the head of a lake
Kirk- church, fort
Knock, Nock hillock
Strath- river valley


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Last Update: 10th November 2008
URL: http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~kjt/general/scots.html