Ulster-Scots Dictionary Volume 1: English / Ulster-Scots
Volume 1: English / Ulster-Scots : Extracts from work-in-progress on Volume 1 of The Complete Ulster-Scots Dictionary: A full historical record of the written and spoken language:
This sample includes pre-edited excerpted historical examples (as of October 2014) from key texts up to circa 1810, only for English words beginning with the letter ‘A’.
The Academy’s full working dictionary contains the equivalent excerptions for the entire alphabet. The 10,000+ entries in it will be made available over the course of 2015 as a database with advanced search capabilities.
A
a, an adjective (the indefinite article): a, yin; (hist.) ane [1. ‘I resavit ane letter frome Sir Tobe Oafeild’ (1614 Letter from James Hamilton of Strabane); 2. ‘to set to thame ane sufficient Laice of twell scoir aikeris of land’ (1617 Indenture by Robert McClelland of north Londonderry); 3. ‘I leave to him ane cleashoch or harpe qche I have’ (1624 Will of William Boyd of Dunluce); 4. ‘thaire come ane bot from Loche Rying quharin thaire was ane mane’ (c. 1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down); 5. ‘I confes I am far fra sa gud ane gatherer, as many ar’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry); 6. ‘Agnes Johnstoun, had bin delated unto ye Session for ane great curser’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’); 7. ‘9 pence given out to ane honest gentleman’ (1685 entry from ‘Session-Book of Dundonald’); 8. ‘consider the nature of ane oath & to attend the session qn called’ (1705 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]
A1 (A-one) adjective: (first class, the very best) ower ocht (loc.) ivver ocht
aback adverb: (taken a~) (surprised) tuk bak, gien a gunk, drapt on, amplushed , pegged; (embarrassed) taen aff [1. taen aff = taken aback, embarrassed … ‘Al taen aff, dear luck tae hir, whun thon wuz brocht up’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (cheated or bewildered) begunked, spanged
abacus noun: coontin frem
abandon verb: gie up, drap, lee (loc.) lea, quat [1. ‘The Doctor then maun quat his sermon’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Preacher turned Doctor’)]; (a~ all hope) gie up oany thocht; (I thought he would a~ it) A thocht he wud gie it up; (just a~ it) jaist lee it, jaist drap it; (permanently) chuck, (a~ it completely) chuck it in; (renege) kick; (a marriage, job or other commitment) pairt; waak oot (on), (don’t a~ me) dinnae waak oot on me; (in a temper or huff) throw up tha heid; (a project) (loc.) jehoe.
noun: (with gay a~) like a liltie [1. ‘awa doon the road like a liltie’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
abase verb: pit doon, affront; (a~ oneself) lower yersel, pit yersel doon
abate verb: deval, let up, gie ower; (decrease, grow calm) drap, lown doon; (the wind didn’t a~ all night) tha wun didnae lown doon aa nicht, tha wun niver lut up aa nicht; (of rainfall) slak [1. slak (-ah-) = (of rainfall) “abate” … ‘it’s stairtin tae slak’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], sloat [1. sloat = (of rain) “abate” (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
abatement noun: let-up; (no a~) nae let-up
abbatoir noun: slauchtèr-hoose
abbey noun: (generic) monastrie; (specific and place-name) abbey; (hist.) abbacie
abbreviate verb: cut doon, shoarten; (a~ the length of your speech) cut tha lenth o yer taak doon
abdicate verb: (throne, position, etc.) gie up; (a~ your rights) gie yer richts up; (a~ your responsibilities) rin awa frae yer duty
abdomen noun: belly, puddins, wame, poke
abduct verb: rin aff (wi), tak aff (wi), lift; (a~ a child) tak aff wi a wean; (a~ everything) lift tha lot, tak aff wi tha lot, rin aff wi tha lot
aberration noun: (wee, big, etc.) mistak
abet verb: in alang wi; (aid and a~ him) in tha thick o it wi him, in alang wi him
abeyance noun: (left in a ~) left hingin
abhor verb: hate, cannae hae, cannae bide, cannae thole, cannae stan
abhorrent adjective: hatefu; (it is a~) it wud gar ye grue, it wud turn ye
abide verb: (live) bide [1. ‘Ne’er lets them bide o’erlang the gither’ (1753 Poem, ‘W’, ‘Sysiphus, or Human Vanity’); 2. ‘Ilk ane his house - there ye maun bide’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Gout and the Flea’)], leeve; (tolerate) abide, thole, stan, pit up wi
abiding adjective: lang-lastin
ability noun: (skill) knak [1. knak (-ah-) = knack … ‘It’ll no open that wie, there’s a knak in it’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (the a~ to do certain things) sketch; (have the a~) (be) guid at, a dab han, fit for, up tae; (has he the a~ for that job?) is he up tae thon job? (no a~) thaveless, hanless, (hae) hans for naethin, fit for naethin, naethin in him but whut’s pit in wi a spoon
abject adjective: ill, bad; (an a~ person) snool
ablaze adjective: bleezin, a-low, ableeze
able adjective: fit [1. ‘Weel fit till cockcraw gin ye like’ (1753 Poem, ‘M’, ‘The Gartan Courtship’); 2. ‘The tricky callan, then, to keep / Frae laughin scarcely fit’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Simkin, Or A Bargain’s A Bargain’); 3. ‘If thou were fit, to gang to France’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Author’s address to his Old Gelding’)]; (sometimes pejorative) able; (hist.) habill [1. ‘in this Kyngdome quhair thai have above 2000 habill Scottis men weill armit’ (1614 Letter from James Hamilton of Strabane)]; (skilled) knakky; (capable of doing) dow; (did all he was a~ to do) daen aa he dowed [1. ‘When Willy Wood, base loon, did a’ he dow’d’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’); 2. ‘Diel haet he dow but girn an spit’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Listen Lizie, Lilting to Tobacco’); 3. ‘Wha Point an’ Prataoes downa tak!’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’); 4. ‘An’ downa look, nor canna speak’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Mill-Pout. A Tale’)] (a~ to) fit tae, can dae; (a~ for) fit for; (I’ll not be a~ to go) A’ll no can go, A’ll no get; (more a~) abler [1. ‘your body is abler for that nor it was’ (Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry)]; (most a~) ablest [1. ‘And gi’s our ablest farmers sound advice’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’)]
abnormal adjective: (mentally) no richt; (peculiar) odd, forbye; (hist.) byordinar; (a~ sensitivity to cold) coulrife; (a~ longing for a type of food) greenin [1. ‘greenin = longing or yearning’ … ‘Wae yer greenin for this an for that, A’m wunntherin if there’s a wee thing wrang’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
aboard adverb: aboord
abode noun: dwellin-hoose
abolish verb: dae awa wi
abolished verb pt: daen awa wi; (since corporal punishment was a~) frae hingin wus daen awa wi
abominable adjective: durty, hatefu, despert, ignorant, (loc.) iggerant; (it’s an a~ situation) it’s a durty business; (a~ person) ignorant pig, dirty baste (it is a~) it’s jaist hatefu, it wud seeken a doag, it’s despert ill tae thole
abominate verb: cannae stan, cannae hae
aboriginals noun pl: furst yins
abort verb: lea
aborted verb pt: (a baby) daen awa wi tha wean afore it wus boarn, haed an abortion; (an activity) quat afore it wus daen; (of a cow) threw tha calve
abound verb: (abounding in) hotchin (wi)
about adverb, prep: (near to) aboot (loc.) aburt, nearhan; (concerning) a-dae wi, aboot, o, anent, on, on tha heid o; (approximately) or sae, aboot, or that, roon, in or over, near aboot; (because of) wi, aboot; (or a~) or sae; (or a~ that) or that; (how did it come a~?) hoo’s this it happen?; (I sent him a~ his business) A huntit him; (he’s up and a~) he’s on his feet, he’s asteer [1. ’But if Owre Hamely be asteer’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Owre Hamely; or, The Famous Basket-Maker’)]
above adverb, prep: abain (loc.) abin, abeen [1. ‘This Place was amest foo o’ Foke; as weel aboon as whar I was’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin); 2. ‘Ye’d think that a’ the starns abeen’ (1753 Poem, ‘M’, ‘The Gartan Courtship’); 3. ‘Hing’t up some barley rig aboon’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Elegy to my Auld Coat’); 4. ‘’Boon a’ the ills I’m doom’d to bear’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’); 5. ‘Aboon the spring, unnotic’d an’ unpreev’d’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Penitent’); 6. ‘Thy age is ten aboon nineteen’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Author’s address to his Old Gelding’); 7. ‘abin or aboon = above’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 8. ‘abain, also abin = above’ (1995 James Fenton ‘Hamely Tongue’)]; (a~ my head) awa abain me; (more) tha odds o; (up a~) up-abain; (over and a~) by
aboveboard adverb: strecht, abainboord
abrasion noun: scrat [1. ‘scrat = scratch’ … ‘Mae airms is a’ scrats’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
abreast adverb: abreesht, side-by-side
abridge verb: cut doon
abridged adjective: shoart, cut-doon; (a~ version) shoart yin, cut-doon yin
abroad adverb: awa ower tha wattèr; (moved a~) flitted oot o tha countrie; (rumoured a~) tha taak o tha countrie, a whullabaloo, bizzed, owerby
abrupt adjective: (of a person) shairp, shoart; (he is very a~ with people) he wud cut ye aff; (she was quite a~ with me) she wus a bit shoart wi me; (a~ hill) stye brae; (a~ dismissal) speedy shifter; (a~ snatch) wheek
abscess noun: income; (sore caused by chaffing) scourge; (festering sore) bealin; (boil or boil-like) bile; (open an a~) let; (an ulcerated a~) brook
abscond verb: rin aff, tak aff (on tha quait), dae a rinner
absent adjective: no here, no there, awa
absent- mindedly adverb: (a~ pick something up and lay it down again) lift an lay; (hum or sing a~) drizzen
absolute adjective: perfait [1. perfait = total’ … ‘makkin a perfait fool o yersel’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], fu, undeniable; (total) teetotal; (it’s the a~ limit) it’s ower ocht; (a~ utmost) durty best; (to the a~ best of one’s ability) for aa ye’r fit; (the a~ truth) tha ins an oots o it
absolutely adverb: (a ~ on one’s own) yer lief alane; (a~ no chance) damn tha fears, deil tha fears, nae fears, damn tha scars; (a~ full of a cold or flu) rotten wi tha coul or tha flu; (couldn’t be a~ certain) wudnae sweer tae it
absolved verb pt: freed frae aa blame, let aff
absorb verb: (incorporate) swallae up, tak in; (information) tak (it) in; (liquid) sook (it) in/up; (a building stone that a~s and exudes water) weepin stane
absorbed verb pt: (engrossed) bizzie; (so a~ reading the paper that he didn’t hear anything) that bizzie wi his heid stuck in tha paper he niver hard ocht; (of a person) (a~ in work) thrang, aa taen up wi
abstain verb: houl bak frae, houl aff; (from drink) (be) aff tha drink
abstained verb pt: (from voting) niver vote’t
abstract noun: (a portion) bit, cut; adjective: abstreck, jaist in tha heid; (a~ art) modren airt; verb: (remove) pu; tak (it) oot; (steal) neuck [1. ‘nyuck = steal’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
abstracted verb pt: (had all his teeth a ~) got aa his teeth oot; adverb:stannin sleepin
absurd adjective: daft
abundance noun: rowth [1. ‘Of a’ his rowth be quickly reev’d’ (1753 Poem, ‘W’, ‘Sysiphus, or Human Vanity’); 2. ‘That rowth o’ sweet pleasures, she formerly gat’ (1753 Poem, ‘T’, ‘An additional Verse to the Widow my Laddie’)], wheens, a-plenty, ruchness, lashins, any god’s amoont; (to the full) (in a~) galore [1. ‘With them galore, an’ whyles a plack’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’)], tae tha masthead
abundant adjective: birthy [1. ‘birthy = numerous, or thick in the ground, applied to potatoes; prolific, or productive’ … ‘Them beans is very birthy’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson Glossary of Antrim and Down’)]
abuse noun: (verbal) miscaa [1. ‘Misca’ them sae, that nane can pass’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘To the Criticks’); 2. ‘Miscaw’d me sair, wi’ many a flout and geck’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’); 3. ‘I’ll no misca thee, / Nor e’er be heard to say foul fa thee’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Listen Lizie, Lilting to Tobacco’); 4. ‘Nae waitin’ wife misca’s the sot, / Wha stauchers hame wi’ ’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Tea’)], tonguin-match, reddin-up, jaain; (loud, crude verbal) doag’s abuse, snash [1. ‘Sic stroke-provoking snash?’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Simmer Fair’)], bak-jaa; verb: maltrait, tattoo; (verbal) miscaa, tongue, sleg, gie (him) tha lenth o yer tongue, let oot at, threap at, bullyrag; (physical) bate, bad tae; (a tirade of a~) tonguin; (exchange of a~) sleggin-match
abut verb: lie intae, cum up agin; (of a farm) mairch (wi)
abyss noun: deep drap, pit
academy noun: academie
accede verb: gae alang wi, alloo [1. alloo = grant; concede in debate’ … ‘I hae tae alloo ye that’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
acceded verb ppt: allooed, (hae) allooed.
accelerate verb: sugh hir on, gie hir tha clog, shift it!, whale
accent noun: (mark over letter) eccent-mairk (speech) tongue; (distinctive local a~) twang, (oor) wye o taakin; (strong southern Irish a~) brogue
accept verb: tak (an offer) tak (it) up; (I a ~ your challenge!) ye’r on! (so do you a~ what I’m saying?) then wud ye alloo me that?
accepted verb pt: (an idea) taen up; (a gift) tuk; (a~ into) tuk in (as yin o); (a~ as a final settlement) coontit clear; (a~ convention) unnèrstud thing
access noun: wye in; (road) lead in, ingang; (private a ~) ain wye in, richt o wye; verb: (a building) get in; (information) get at
accessible adjective: easie got at, comatible, getatible; (intelligible) aisie unnèrstud; (approachable) apen
accessory noun: pairt, extra pairt; (to a crime) (dae it) (in it) alang wi, in it wi (him); (act as a~), hae airt an pairt in
accident noun: accydent, eccydent, hamshoch, mishanter; (unintentional mistake) slip-up; (involving a vehicle) car-crash, plane-crash, etc.; (involving a person) cum doon a clattèr, got a cut, etc.; (somebody laid aside by an a~) lamiter
accidental adjective: (unintentional) (it was a ~) it wusnae daen a-purpose; (a~ blow) chap
acclaim verb: hail
accommodate verb: mak room for; (provide lodging for) tak in, pit up; (hist.) gie aisement tae
accommodation noun: (flexibility) come-an-go; (for lodging, renting or living in) rooms, lodgins; (for sleeping only, no food provided) dry lodgin; (temporary) pit-ye-up; (any a~ available?) oany rooms free? (provide a~ for one) tak (ye) in, pit (ye) up
accompany verb: g’alang wi, go wi, cum (alang) wi, company; (escort home on foot) convoy [1. ‘and having convoyed one of his company to b . . . turned back again to ye ailhouse’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’)]; (music) play alang wi; (a~ the song on the piano) play tha piano for tha sang; (a~ someone home) lee ye hame
accomplice noun: (be an a ~ of) be intraiged wi
accomplish verb: dae
accord verb: get on (wi); noun: accoard; (hist.) greeance; (accords with) agrees wi, tallys wi
according adverb: (a ~ to) accoardin tae, (loc.) ownin til, wi, by; (a~ to him ) wi him, by his wye o it; (do it a~ to the book) dae it by tha book
accordion noun: squeeze-box, box, cordjyin, come-tae-me-go-aff-me
accost verb: stap, teckle, yock; (with a view to making acquaintance) mak up tae; (amorously) face; (to get money for drink) boord (persistently) hant
account noun: accoont, discoorse, accompt [1. ‘the report betwixt Robt Boyd and her was upon the accompt of struggling with her about a piece of tobacco’ (1705 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]; (long-winded) parable, lingalee; (invoice) bill; (to no a~) nane [1. naen = to no account … ‘That grew can rin naen’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (true a~) tha richt wye o it; (on a~ of) ower (tha heid o); (bring someone to a~) püll ye ower tha coals; (add up an a~) fit up
accounts noun pl: coonts
accoutrements noun: cootèrments, graith; (uniform and a~) (joc.) canonicals
accrue verb: add up, cum tae
accumulate verb: gether, gether (it) thegither, bing
accurate adjective: true [1. ‘Some said he cou’dna play’d a reel / As true as monie anither chiel’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’)], richt, exect, eccarate; (clock) keeps guid time; (an a~ blow) pink
accusation noun: accusation
accusations noun pl: exclaimins
accuse verb: blame, gie (him) tha blame, pit tha blame on (him), mak an accusation agin, bad-mooth, deem, even; (formal) delate [1. ‘John Jackson delated to ye Session for breaking of ye Sabbath’ (1648 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’)], (hist.) wyte
accused verb pt: got tha blame o, sayed it wus (him); (a~ of) (in court) chairged wi, delated (for) [1. ‘Agnes Johnstoun, had bin delated unto ye Session for ane great curser’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’)]; noun: (in court) prisoner
accustom verb: get uised wi
accustomed adjective: usual; verb: saisoned; (be a~ to) uised wi, wud aye, get hantit wi; adverb: (grow a~ to) get made tae, get used tae
ache noun: stoun [CUD; SND], pains, sair heid, sair bak, sair teeth (headache, toothache, etc.)
achieve verb: dae, pit by [SND(Uls.)]; (a~ success) get on weel
achieved verb: daen, got; (hasn’t a~ anything at all) haesnae daen ocht ava; (has a~ a high grade) haes got guid mairks; (nothing a~) no a wean washed
achievement noun: achievement, big thing; (is that the height of your a~?) is that al ye hae daen?
achieving present p: gettin on weel, daein guid; (are you a~ it?) ir ye gettin there?
acid adjective: soor, sautie; noun: acid; (nitric a~) active fortis
acknowledge verb: (accept the truth of) gie in tae; (concede) alloo [1. alloo = grant; concede in debate’ … ‘I hae tae alloo ye that’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (admit that) own up tae; (a person) own, bid (him) tha time o day; (don’t a~ me then!) (real or pretended response to being passed by without acknowledgement) ir ye no speakin? (he didn’t a~ me) he niver lut on he knew me.
acne noun: spots
acorn noun: acoarn, oak-berry
acoustic adjective: soon [1. ‘soon = sound’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
acquainted verb pt: acquent (wi) [1. ‘But if I was acquaint wi’ letters’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Dialogue between Bawty and Tray, Concerning the Dog-Tax’); 2. ‘acquant, or acquent = acquainted’ … ‘I’m well acquant with all his people’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 3. ‘acquent = acquainted, known to each other … acquent wae = familiar with’ … ‘A’m naw ower well acquent wae these metters, maesel’ (1995 James Fenton ‘Hamely Tongue’)]; (be a~ with) come across, coont acquent wi, ken
acquiesce verb: g’alang wi, (be) happie eneuch; (agreed reluctantly) wusnae happie but went alang wi it oanyhoo
acquire verb: get; (by inheritance) faa intae [1. fa inty = inherit … ‘fell inty that place whun the uncle deed a bachelor’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (by chance) lift aff tha wattèr. [1. lift aff the watter = acquire (a trait) by chance (usually in neg.) … ‘He daesnae lift that aff the watter (i.e. it’s inherited)’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
acquit verb: aquut; (release from duty or charge) let aff; (free from guilt or accusation) clear (yer) name; (a~ oneself well) dae weel, get on weel, cum oot o it richtlie
acre noun: acre, (loc.) ecre [1. ‘to set to thame ane sufficient Laice of twell scoir aikeris of land’ (1617 Indenture by Robert McClelland of north Londonderry)]
acrid adjective: bittèr [1. bitter (-tth-) (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], gal
acrimonious adjective: bittèr [1. bitter (-tth-) = of extreme political or religious conviction; bitterly opposed to or resentful of the ‘other side’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
acrobat noun: ecrobat; (hist.) tummler
across prep: ower (loc.) ivver, across, cross [1. ‘And cross the lone a cotter dwells’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Gout and the Flea’)]; (hist.)(lit.) athort [1. ‘And neebour loons, that come athort’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Listen Lizie, Lilting to Tobacco’)]; (get a~ the sea) wun ower [1.’He hes bein this fourtnicht past in Port Patrick and cane nocht wune over’ (1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]
act noun: ect, (of Parliament) Ect; (a~ of despair, etc.) daen in desperation, etc. verb: ect (tha lig, etc.); dae (ocht); (aimlessly) plootèr aboot [1. plooter aboot = work or act aimlessly (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (in a play) play-ect; vbl noun pl: daeins; (a~ upon) faze on; (~ as) dae fur; (a~ with energy and speed) link
acted verb ppt: ectit, (hae) ectit
action noun: ection; (take no immediate a~) let tha hare sit; (sudden burst of a~) tear; (morally indefensible a~) wrang daen thing; (take legal a~) tak tae coort, hae tha laa agin, pross [1. ‘Nae pross ere plagues him now, sloth leas his hame’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Penitent’)]; (take no a~ for the moment) let tha hare sit; (actions) daeins
activate verb: stairt (it) up, bring intae ection
active adverb: ective, gaun, throu-gaun; (still a~ in teaching, swimming, etc.) still at tha teachin, sweemin, etc.
actor noun: ector [1. ector (-tth-) = actor (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (on stage) player
actual adjective: rail [1. rail = real (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], ectual [1. ectual = actual (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (the a~ experience) (of the teller) no carried story; (actually) (hist.) in troth
acute adjective: shairp; (crucial) (a~ lack of) big want o
Adam’s apple noun: Eddam’s epple
adapt verb: adapt; (a~ yourself to) get hantit wi, get uised tae
add verb: add; (join to) pit on, add on; (count) coont up, add up
adder noun: snake
addict noun: (alcoholic) drunkerd; (drugs) (he) taks drugs; (gambling) (he) gemmles; (be) a gemmler
addition noun: add-on, addeetion, eke; (to a building) onset, ootshot, clap-til; (in a~ to) forbye, eke [1. ‘Forth came the flea, and eke the gout’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Gout and the Flea’)]; (a~ and subtraction exercises in arithmetic) makes an takes
additional adjective: forbye; (anything a~) furdèr [1. ‘Thair is na help nor further your wiff seal craew of me’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry)]; (a~ room) en
address noun: (speech) taak, discoorse; (crude and inarticulate) garble; (site of house) addrèss
adept adjective: (be) guid at, (be) a dab han at; (be a~ at anything) hae hans fur oniethin
adequate adjective: eneuch [1. enugh (r.ugh), also enyugh = enough … ‘We got it a’ in, but wae enugh tae dae’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], adyquate [1. adyquate = adequate’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
adhere verb: stick; (to a cause) follae
adhesive adjective: sticky, claggy; (a~ tape) sticky-tape
adjacent adjective: agin, up agin, alangside, fornent
adjourn verb: pit (it) aff
adjudicate verb: judge, (loc.) jidge
adjust verb: pit (it) richt, right, soart oot; (rectify) rightify; (adapt to new conditions) settle (in); (a~ something to match with) merry (it) up wi
administer verb: (a drug, punishment, etc.) gie (it) oot; (an office) rin
administration noun: rinnin, offys
admirable adjective: guid, fine; (nice) wee
admiralty noun: admiralitie
admire verb: think weel o, luk up tae, set great store by, admire [1. admire (-aai-) = admire (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
admired verb pt: (much a~) hel in high regaird
admission noun: entèrance, ingang
admit verb: (access) let in, alloo in; (concede in debate) alloo, own [1. ‘he declares (and his sons that were concerned owned) was without his knowledge’ (1707 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’); 2. ‘It mun be own’d, when a is doon’ (1733 Poem, Anon., ‘An elegy on Sawney Sinkler’); 3. ‘To own her charms, or hug the chain?’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Crochanhill. A Scotch Sang’); 4. ‘Love’s stangs are ill to thole, I own it’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘To a Hedge-Hog’); 5. ‘This rhyme I sen’ to own I’m debtor’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Address to Mr. A—, Carrickfergus’)], gie intae, gie (ye) that, let on.
admitted verb ppt: lut in, (hae) lut in; (conceded) allooed, (hae) allooed
ado noun: adae, to-do, how-do-ye-do; (bustle) hubble; (without more a~) nae mair aboot it
adopt verb: tak on; (child) luk eftèr; (formal) adopt
adore verb: jaist love; (hist.)(lit.) (I a~) leeze me on [1. ‘But leeze me on the precious Pratoe’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’); 2. ‘Leeze me on Tea! — the maskin pot’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Tea’)]
adorn verb: decorate
adorned adjective: decorateit, tifted [1. tifted = adorned’ … ‘al tifted up an ready for the toon’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
adrift adverb: driftin; (with snow) wreath [1. wreath (r.seethe) = a snowdrift (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
adult adjective: man-grown, man-big, wumman-big; (a~ movie) x-certificate (pictèr); (a~ man) man boady; (a~ woman) wumman boady
adultery noun: (commit a ~) lay away. [1. lay away = commit adultery (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
adults noun pl: ouler yins, big yins; (a~ only) nae weans
advance verb: (gae) forrit [1. fort (r. sort), also forrit = forward (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], cum forrit; (an idea) pit forrit; (progress) (any a~?) oany shift? oany fardèr fort? [1. farder (-dh-) = farther (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (money) gie a sub; (order in a~) tryst
advanced adverb: (well a~) richtlie on; (a~ in age) up in yeirs, fastened; (a~ in pregnancy) heavy-fittit; (of a child) oul-farrant
advantage noun: heid stairt; (have taken an a~ of) got tha bettèr o, availed o, got on tha blin side o, made a hannle o; (profit) guid; (what is the a~ of that?) whut’s tha guid o that?; (easily taken a~ of) saft; (unfair a~) bak-spang, kinch
adventure noun: kerrant [1. kerrant (-ant’) = escapade … ‘nae sich kerrants for me at my age’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)] [SND carrant ], pant; (hist.)(lit.) splore adversary noun: (hist.)(lit.) fae
adverse adjective: bad; (a~ weather) coorse wather, durty wather, hardy wather; (in a~ circumstances) (be) ill-aff ; (a~ publicity) bad publicitie
adversity noun: hartship, werd
advertise verb pit (it) oot, pit it aboot; (commercially) pit oot an advert
advice noun: advice, wee wurd
advisable adverb: (be a~ for one to) tak ye tae, ye may
advise verb: gie advice tae, alloo [1. ‘allow, to advise. ‘Doctor! A wouldn’t allow you to be takin’ off that blister yet,’ means ‘I wouldn’t advise it.’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’)], hae a wee wurd wi, rede [1. ‘And I maun rede thee, dinna tak’ it ill’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’)], advise [1. advise (-aai-) = advise (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
advised verb pt: (be a ~) be sayed
afar adverb: far aff, far awa, lang road awa
affair noun: daeins, cairry-on, ricmatic, hannlin; (having an a~ with) cairryin on wi
affairs noun pl: daeins: (business) affears [1. ‘A Regester of session afears’ (1763 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]
affect verb: (a~ one later on) cum in on ye later
affected verb pt: (a ~ in a particular way) tuk wi; (by an illness) smit
affection noun: gra
affectionate adjective: wairm-hairtit
affidavit noun: davy
affiliate verb: join up wi
affix verb: stick (it) tae
afflict verb: pit (it) on (ye), ail [1. ail = ‘trouble or afflict’ … ‘Whut ails ye?’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
afflicted verb pt: (a~ with) bad wi
affluent adjective: weel-aff, bien
afford verb: afford, hae eneuch, houl fit tae, houl oot tae, hae tha reuchness tae
affray noun: fecht
affronted verb pt: affrontit
afire adjective: (hist.) bauld [1.’I ame bauld to remember my deuty to yours wourthie mother’ (c. 1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]
afloat adjective: afleet [1. ‘afleet = afloat’ ( 1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’)]
aforesaid adjective: foresaid [1. ‘foresaids buildand sufficient howssis on the foresaid fre tenement’ (1617 Indenture from Robert McClelland of north Londonderry); 2. ‘the first Sabbath of ye forsd month’ (1679 entry from ‘Session-Book of Dundonald’); 3. ‘denyes his being guilty with the foresd I— Wilson’ (1706 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)], samyne [1. ‘The samyne lyis in lenth and breid with … bigginis … for thair awin use’ (1617 Indenture from Robert McClelland of north Londonderry)]
afraid adjective: feared [1. ‘They wur feared o him … (feart: a variant of feared)’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], afeared [1. ‘afeard = afraid’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’)], feart, befunked, hairt-feared, hairt scarred; (a~ to speak out) mealy-moothed; (I’m a~ I’ll) (apologetic) A’m affrayit A’ll [1. ‘I ame affrayid I sall nocht returne home now till Mairche’ (c. 1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]
after prep: eftèr [1. ‘I be thir presents sets and in tak and assedatioun for the dewtie efter speifyit’ (1617 Indenture from Robert McClelland of north Londonderry]; (a~ all) sure; (a~ the event) behin tha han. [HT efter (-tth-)]; (ask a~) ax for; (a~ a while) belive [1. ‘Belive came a Cheel we a black Goon upon the Back o’ him’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin)], bye an bye; (name a child a~) cal for; (shortly a~) shoart syne [1. ‘I heard they met short syne in Huoc’s heather’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’)]
afterbirth noun: (of a cow) cleanin.
aftergrass noun: eddises, (loc.) ettis
afternoon noun: eftèrnuin, evenin
afterwards adverb: then, eftèr, eftèrhan; (hist.) syne [1. ‘Syne on my Four-hours Luntion chew’d my Cude’ (c. 1722 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘A Pastoral in Praise of Allan Ramsay’)]
again adverb:agane [1.‘that I may have it agane quhen yow sall send any over to thir pairtis’ (c. 1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]; (now and a~) yinst in a while
against preposition, adverb: agin, agane [1. ‘Quote texts again’ me’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Address to Mr. A—, Carrickfergus’); 2. ‘again, agin = against’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 3 ‘agane , also agin = against’ … ‘It’s al uphill an agane the wun. She’s wile agane drink’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (over a~) forgane [1. ‘ye Session ordains him next Lord’s day to stand leigh forgans ye pulpit’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’)]
age noun: (period) day (o); (of a person) age, time-o-day; (loc.) ege; (nearing the a~) hittin; (long time) worl o time; (nearly the same a~) near an age; (the same a~) o an age
aged adverb:getting on, weel on, up in yeirs; (hist.) eildit
agent noun: (hist.) factor [1. ‘yet I think to gang there as a Factor to a Gentleman of this City’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’)], proctor [1. ‘Nae vicar, curate, proctor’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Tit for Tat, or The Rater Rated’)]
aggravate verb: aggryvate [1. aggryvate (ah-) also eggryvate = aggravate (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], aggrovoke; (inflame) mak (it) waur; (annoy) rub up tha wrang wye
agree verb: gree [1. ‘Wi’ the weans she ne’er can gree’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Watty and Meg. A Tale’)]
aggressive adjective: lukkin a fecht; (become a~) turn turk; (a~ swipe or rush) brenishin [1. brenish = an aggressive swipe or rush … ‘stannin brenishin an squaverin an folk only lachin at him’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
agile adjective: gleg [1. ‘An’ Jockey louns, sae gleg an’ gare’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Simmer Fair’)], soople [1. soople = fit and agile … ‘as soople as a troot’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
agitate verb: stir
agitated adjective: reid-wud [1. ‘The red-wud, warpin, wild uproar’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’)] (a~ state) hittèrpüsh [1. hitterpush (-tth-; r.hush) = a fluster, a state of confusion … ‘in that big a hitterpush A daenae know whuther A’m cumin or gan’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], splootèr [1. ‘splooter (-tth-) = a state of agitation’ … ‘It’ll naw help oany gettin yersel in a splooter’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)] [CUD spleuter ], bloostèr, picher, picker, hae tha jiggers up; (a~ surface of water) papple; (talk in an a~ way) gansh
agnail noun: ragnail, whuttle
ago adverb: bak, (hist.) syne [1. ‘Three twal Months sine fortall his Deed’ (1734 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘An elegy on Brice Blare’)]; (two years a~) twa yeir bak; (some time a~) a while bak; (long a~) a lang while bak, lang since by; (hist.) lang syne [1. ‘Auld Homer did the same lang-syne’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Epistle to Mr. R—, Belfast’)]; (a week a~ on Saturday) Setterday wus a week; (a minute a~) jaist this minnit; (it was a long time a~) it wusnae theday or yisterday
agony noun: agony, egony
agree verb: agree, g’alang wi, (compatible) get on wi; (a~ on terms, price, etc.) settle on; (a~ with) dae wi, say wi; (I a~) (reluctantly) A suppose sae; (wholeheartedly) A think sae (sowl)!
agreeable adjective: couthie [1. ‘How comfortable, an’ how couthy’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’)]
agreement noun: tryst
ahead adverb: (go a~!) tear away! (straight a~) fair on/at
aimlessly adverb: (work a ~) plootèr aboot [1. ‘plooter aboot = work or act aimlessly’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
air noun: air, (tune) tune [1. ‘chune also cune = tune’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], souch
airport noun: drome, airdrome
airs noun: (full of a~) nyiffy-nyaffy [1. nyiffy-nyaffy = full of airs, affectedly superior (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
alarm verb, noun: scar, alairm
alas! interjection: och-a-nee! man dear! boys-a-dear! (hist.) waesucks! [1. ‘Wae sucks for our young lasses now’ (1807 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Carnmoney Witches’)], waes me! [1. ‘Waes me! how wat ye’re? Gie’s your hat’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Written in Winter’)]
alder noun: eldèr. [1. ‘elder (-dh-] the alder’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
ale noun: beer; (hist.) yill; (strong, heady) nappy [1. ‘Out o’er a glass o’ reaming nappy’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Davie and Sawney, An Ale-House Ecologue’)]; (home made) swats [1. ‘gee the Coggs till Batty till Lick, and give us a Coag of Swats’ (1733 Prose, Anon., A North-Country Grace)]
alert adjective: shairp, gleg
alien adjective: foreign; noun: foreigner, stranger, ootlannèr
alienate verb: turn (ye) aff
alight adjective: (fire) a-low [1. ‘alowe = lit; kindled; on fire’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 2. a-low (r. how) also lowin = alight (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], lowin, lichtit
alight verb: get doon, get aff, light
alighted verb pt: lit
alive adjective: leevin; (still a~) tae tha fore yit; (a~ and well) leevin an weel [1. leevin an weel = alive and well (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
all adjective: aa [1. ‘As ane wad wish, just a’ beneath my Ee’ (c. 1722 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘A Pastoral in Praise of Allan Ramsay’); 2. ‘whare a’ the Cadys are kept’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin); 3. ‘and aw lang nebbed Things that creeps intill Heather’ (1733 Prose, Anon., A North-Country Grace); 4. ‘It mun be own’d, when a is doon … And aw that Antichristian Rabble’ (1733 Poem, Anon., ‘An elegy on Sawney Sinkler’); 5. ‘For a thy Thirst’ (1734 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘An elegy on Brice Blare’); 6. ‘young Foke in Ereland are aw but a Pack of Couards’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’); 7. ‘Why do the POETS, ane and a’ ’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘To the Criticks’); 8. ‘An’ gien us a’ cause to bewail’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’); 9. ‘Lye skail’d in a’ directions’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’); 10. ‘The neighbour wives a’ gather’d in’ (1807 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Carnmoney Witches’)], al, tha hale; (a~ the way) tha hale cut; (for a~ you know) forochs (for ocht) ye know; (a~ one of a kind) aa tha yin wattèr; (a~ of the same nature and disposition) aa tha yin soo’s pigs.
alledge verb: claim; (hist.) ledge [1. ‘I ledge we’d fen gif fairly quat o’ ’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’)]
alleged verb pt: (he a~ it was me) he claimed A daen it
alleviate verb: ease, aise
alley noun: (narrow lane between buildings) close; (narrow street in town) vennel; (narrow lane or passage between buildings) entry; (back a~) bak entry
alliance noun: (formal) fedèration; (unholy a~) reel; (in an a~) workin thegither
allied verb pt: in (alang) wi
allocate verb: gie oot, han oot, dale
allotment noun: plot
allow verb: alloo, let, thole
allowed verb ppt: allooed, (hae) allooed
allowing adverb: (even a~ for) tha mair o
allure verb: attrèct, draa
almighty adjective: almichtie; (The A~) noun: Tha Aamichtie, Tha Man Abain
almost adverb: gyely, amaist [1. ‘ye thocht litle of it or of anything I did that was gud or gave yow contentment; bott all (almaist) was allways wrang’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry); 2. ‘This Place was amest foo o’ Foke; as weel aboon as whar I was’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin); 3. ‘It might amaist be weather proof’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Bonnet — A Poem, Addresed to a Reverend Miser’); 4. ‘But I’d amaist forgot a trick’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Fragment’)], near, nearhan, nearaboot, maistlie; (a~ the same as) nixt tae
aloft adjective: (up) abain, (up) heich
alone adverb: alane [1. ‘Thy Breast alane this gladsome Guest does fill’ (c. 1722 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘A Pastoral in Praise of Allan Ramsay’); 2. ‘Ah sir! I’m lost in grief, I’m left alane’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’); 3. ‘’Bout strae or bourtray neuks alane’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Country Dance’); 4. ‘alane = alone’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (ma) lane [1. ‘he lay three severall nights in her hous, they being both their alons’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’); 2. ‘My lane, that day’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Passengers’); 3. ‘A’m sittin here mae lane as usual. Ir ye yer lane?’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (absolutely a~) yer lief alane [1. ‘yer lief alane = absolutely on one’s own’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
along adverb: alang [1. ‘Sweet, halsome scents are saftly borne / Alang the dales’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Epistle to Mr. R—, Belfast … To the Same’); 2. ‘alang (-ah-) = along’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; prep: langwyes; verb: (a~ with her dinner) tae hir dennèr; (get a~ together) get on, soart [1. ‘Him an the brither didnae soart, an that’s why the fairm wus sowl’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (came a~ the road) cum tha gate [1. ‘Laird Johnny heght, he, daund’ring came the gate’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’)]
aloof adjective: stuck up, tovey [1. ‘tovey = haughtily proud, conceited’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
aloud adverb: oot lood, lood oot
alphabet noun: Ah-B-Cs (in the singular in Standard English)
already adverb: aareadie, inreadie
alright adverb: richtlie, bravelie; interjection: richt ye be!
also adverb: forbye, anaa, tae, as weel; (hist.) eke [1. ‘Forth came the flea, and eke the gout’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Gout and the Flea’); 2. ‘An eke the safeguard o’ my purse’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Lizie’s Lament for her Dog Lion’); 3. ‘An’ eke a sonnet in your debt’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Epistle to Mr. R—, Belfast’); 4. ‘Destroy the lambs and eke the hens’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Davie and Sawney, An Ale-House Ecologue’)]
altar noun: althar [1. ‘ahltar (-tth-) = altar’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
alter verb: ahltèr [1. ‘ahltar (-tth-) = alter’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], (attitude) jee. [1. ‘jee = alter one’s attitude … ‘we tried him ivery wie we could, but he wudnae jee’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], cheynge
alternately adverb: time aboot, turn aboot
although conj tha mair, tho’ [1. ‘Tho’ some loons ca’d thee selfish rogue ay’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’)]
altitude noun: heicht [1. ‘heecht = height’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
altogether adverb: aathegither [1. ‘athegither = altogether’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue], at al [1. ‘at al = altogether’ … ‘it wuz the best valye at al’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
aluminium noun: alyemeenyem
always adverb: aye [1. ‘quha I knaw feirit ay the worst’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry); 2. ‘His stomach, ay eat less and less’ (1734 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘An elegy on Brice Blare’); 3. ‘Just heav’n, your friendly warnings ay are right’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’); 4. ‘Whar lads an’ lasses ay repair’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Simmer Fair’); 5. ‘A bargain’s ay a bargain’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Simkin, Or A Bargain’s A Bargain’); 6. ‘I ay was proud to think on’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’); 7. ‘Was aye as sleekit as an otter’ (1807 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Carnmoney Witches’); 8. ‘Aye whan our theme’s a bonny lass’ (1811 Poem, John Meharg, ‘Epistle to Francis Boyle (I)’); 9. ‘For carrier bodies aye do buy’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘John Starve-the-Poor’); 10. ‘aye (r.eye)= always’ … ‘aye takkin frae an niver pittin tae’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], ayewyes, aawyes [1. ‘but they had aways Words about we him aboon’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin)], ahlways; (a~ at) niver daen; (a~ the same) aye tha yin wye
am verb: am, be, bis, bes
amalgamate verb: (people or organisations by consent) get thegither, (be) aa tha yin noo; (ingredients or materials) pit thegither
amass verb: gether
amateur adjective: (a~ dramatic group) players
amaze verb: dumfoonèr
amazing adjective: pooerfu
ambition noun: ambeetion
ambitious adjective: (be) gaun places, for daein big things
amble verb: dannèr [1. ‘Laird Johnny heght, he, daund’ring came the gate’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’)]
ambushed verb pt: lep oot at
amen adverb: amen ; (hist.) sae mote hit be
amend verb: pit (it) richt
America noun: Amerikae (specifically the United States of America)
American adjective: Amerikae
amiable adjective: likeable
amicable adjective: freenlie
amid prep amang
amiss adverb: aglee [1. aglee = amiss, awry’ … ‘His big plans went aglee as usual’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; adjective: wrang
ammunition noun: ammuneetion, chairge, shot
among adverb: amang [1. ‘As ’mang my stacks I stood incog’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Lizie’s Lament for her Dog Lion’); 2. ‘And streek me down amang the coom’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’); 3. ‘Or ‘mang auld sails lay flat ay’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Passengers’); 4. ‘There’s no’ a lad amang a hunner’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Answer’); 5. ‘‘He’ll daet amang hans,’ i.e. he will get it done somehow, by dividing the labour, and finding spare time for it’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 6. ‘amang (-ah-) = among’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
amongst adverb: (a~ themselves) amang ither, throuither [1. ‘The splain an’ stuffin’ -- a’ compleenin’ / Sit whazzlin’ throuther’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Tea’)]
amount noun: amoont, lock [1. ‘lock = some, a quantity or number’ … ‘It’ll tak a wile lock o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], feck [1. ‘feck = amount; number’ … ‘Wus there oany feck o folk at it?’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], clatter [1. clatter (-tth-) = a large amount’ … ‘It’ll tak a clatter o money tae redd ye’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], (be) tha much, pile, thing [1. ‘thing = some, an amount’ … ‘There’s nae coal in the hoose, but there’s thing oot in the shade’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (large) taggin [1. ‘taggin = large amount’ … ‘Wud ye mine the taggin o stuff she haes bocht’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], nae en o, onie God’s amoont, tear [1. ‘tear = a large amount’ … ‘a wile tear o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], tha terrible, trevally [1. ‘trevally = a large amount or number’ … ‘a hale trevally o stuff’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (small) aumlach [1. ‘aumlach = a small quantity’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’)], colour [1. ‘colour = a small amount’ … ‘A wee colour o money’s handy whiles’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], dreg [1. ‘dreg = a small amount’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], lick [1. ‘lick = a small amount’ … ‘a lick o meal, a lick o paint’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], pick [1. ‘the worst of it will be to trail a pick a few yeirs untill ye be able … and he never trailit ane pick’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry); 2. ‘pick = a small amount’ … ‘a pick o mutton, mae wee pick o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], pickle [1. ‘the Horn till the left, and the wee pickle Snuff in it’ (1733 Prose, Anon., A North-Country Grace); 2. ‘To sell a pickle yarn’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Hawk and Weazle’); 3. ‘An’ a saut poke to haud the pickle’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Fragment’); 4. ‘pickle = a small quantity’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], scrapins [1. ‘scrapins = small amounts’ … ‘It’s naw worth scrapins. She’s failed away tae scrapins’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], sniftèr [1. ‘snifter (-tth-) = a small amount; a small drink’ … ‘A wee snifter whun A’m in the toon or that, but that’s a’ ’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], taste [1. ‘taste = a small amount’ … ‘He haes a taste o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], tent [1. ‘tent = a trace, a small amount’ … ‘There’s no a tent o shuggar in the hoose’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (small drop o liquid) drib [1. ‘drib = a small amount (of liquid)’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], seep [1. ‘seep = a small amount of liquid’ … ‘haesnae a seep o milk’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (small pour of liquid) scoot [1. ‘scoot = a small amount poured out’ … ‘a wee scoot o tay’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], skeeg [1. ‘skeeg = a small amount of liquid’ … ‘a wee skeeg o tay’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], sope [1. ‘sope also sowp, sup = a small amount of liquid to drink’ … ‘a sope o tay’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (large sum of ) lump o [1. ‘lump o = a large amount’ … ‘a lump o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], power o [1. ‘Quoth some ‘we’ll catch a pour o’ scorn’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Simmer Fair’); 2. ‘power o = a large amount’ … ‘a power o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], shal o [1. ‘shal o = a large amount’ … ‘shal o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (next to nothing) half-naethin; (very small) design [1. ‘design = a very small amount’ … ‘The least wee design, noo, an only becahse it’s Christmas’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], pook [1. ‘pook = a very small amount; as much as can be plucked with the finger and thumb’ … ‘a wee pook o waddin’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], snuff [1. ‘snuff = a very small amount’… ‘a snuff o meal’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], tick [1. ‘tick = a pinch, a very small amount’ … ‘needs a tick o sahlt’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (considerable or worthwhile a~) ruchness [1. ‘rughness = considerable or worthwhile amount’ … ‘Lucks is a’ very weel, but it’s ill tae bate a rughness o money’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], brave lock, brave wheen; (large a~) tha much, muckle [1. ‘shou’d be mad cald / We muckle Drink’ (1734 Poem, William Starrat of Strabane: ‘An elegy on Brice Blare’); 2. ‘muckle = a large amount’ … ‘Muckle guid that’ll dae me’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
ample adjective: plentie, rowthie
amuse verb: mak (ye) lach; (greatly) tak tae tha fair
amused verb: (be highly a~ by) tak yer en at
amusing adjective: funny, antic [1. ‘antic = funny; droll’ … ‘He’s very antic’ … ‘antickest = most funny’ ( 1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 2. ‘antic = amusing, full of capers’ … ‘a rail antic wee boy’ (1995 James Fenton ‘Hamely Tongue’)]; noun: (a~ witty person) geg [1. ‘geg = a witty, amusing person’ … ‘a quare geg, so ye ir’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], hyatte [1. ‘hyatte = a witty or amusing person’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
an adjective: (the indefinite article) a, an, yin; (hist.) ane. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (4.2 The indefinite article ‘a’) for parameters of use]
analyse verb: pu apairt
anbury noun: ang’lberry [1. ‘angle-berries = large hanging warts on a horse, sometimes about its mouth’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 2. ‘angleberry (ahng’l-) = an anbury, the soft external tumour on a horse’s belly’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
ancestor noun: ancestor [1. ‘ancestor (-tth-) = ancestor’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
ancestors noun: forebears, whut ye’r cum frae, forebearers, forefowk, kin
anchor noun: enckor
ancient adjective: oul, auld; (hist.) auldrife, lang syne
and conj an [1. ‘An’ gien us a’ cause to bewail’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’); 2. ‘An falds were op’d by monie a herd’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’); 3. ‘An’ no refuse’ (1811 Poem, John Meharg, ‘Epistle to Francis Boyle (I)’)]
anew adverb: yinst mair
anger noun: ang’r [1. ‘anger (-ahng’r-) = anger’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], eng’r [1. ‘enger (-eng’r-) = anger’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
angle noun: eng’l [1. ‘engle (eng’l) = angle’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], cam [1. ‘cam = slope; tilt; angle’ … ‘Gie the fur a weethin mair cam’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
angler noun: fisherman
angler-fish noun (fish): plaich [1. ‘The Sea Devil, or Angler … locally called "Pllaich" ’ (1880 Hist., Robert Patterson ‘Birds frequenting Belfast Lough’)]
Anglican noun: Churchman
angling verb: fishin
angry adjective: ang’ry, engry, thick; (temporary) ragein; (always) cross, crabbit; adverb: het up; (become a~ or boisterous) cut up ruch; (become a~ or aggressive) turn turk
anguish noun: egony, sufferin
animal noun: annymal; (dumb a~) brute baste
ankle noun: ankle [1. ‘ankle (ah-) = ankle’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], enkle, ankler [1. ‘anklet = the ankle’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 2. ‘ankler (ahnk-) = ankle’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
annex verb: tak ower
annexe noun: add-on; (attached to rear of building) return, bak-return (especially small, domestic); (attached to side of building) clap-til, clap-tae, side-return
annotate verb: mak notes
announce verb: gie oot, pit oot, annoonce
annoy verb: fash, sturt [1. ‘Wi’ nae sic like to vex or sturt ye’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’)], afflict, aggryvate [1. ‘aggryvate (ah-) = annoy, exasperate’ … ‘But thon’s an aggryvatin boy!’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], (loc.) eggryvate, get tae, get ye gaun, get intae ye, gie ye bother, gie ye tha nyirps, polyute, rumfle tha feathers, get (on) yer goat; (what’s annoying you?) whut’s got intae ye? annoyance noun: nyerps, affliction, fashin [1. ‘But fashing soon at starts and skips’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’)]
annoyed verb pt: thaveless; fash’t, pit oot, pegged
annoying adjective: engersome
annual adjective: ennual, yeir by yeir
annulled verb pt: endit, daen awa wi
anointed verb pt: anointit
another adjective: anither [1. ‘Anither, or his moilings mar’ (1753 Poem, ‘W’, ‘Sysiphus, or Human Vanity’); 2. ‘Some said he cou’dna play’d a reel / As true as monie anither chiel’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’); 3. ‘Resolv’d to meet again wi’ ane anither’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’); 4. ‘While warps and queels employ’d anither bairn’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Penitent’); 5. ‘Love ane anither’ (1811 Poem, John Meharg, ‘Epistle to Francis Boyle (I)’); 6. ‘If ye could find out sic anither’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Fragment’); 7. ‘anither = another’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
answer noun: answer; (hist.) repone; verb: gie answer, mak answer, repone; (sharply) birk [1. ‘For birking madam Crape’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Tit for Tat, or The Rater Rated’)]; (a~ me this) tell me this; (a~ back) turn tha wurd
answered verb pt: gien answer tae, cum bak at (him) gaun, cum bak wi; (hist.) reponed
ant noun: pishmowl
anthem noun: anthem
anticipate verb: be up tae, luk forrit tae
antics noun: didoes, manyuvres [1. ‘manyuvres = antics; tricks; dodges’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
anvil noun: anvil
anxiety noun: worry
anxious adjective: enxious, frettin, worried (seeck), carkin [1. ‘It helps to frighten carkin’ care’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Epistle to Mr. R—, Belfast’), thochtie
any adjective: oany [1. ‘and my sel as muckle as ony Six of them’ (1733 Prose, Anon., A North-Country Grace); 2. ‘As ony Priest beneath the Lift’ (1733 Poem, Anon., ‘An elegy on Sawney Sinkler’); 3. ‘if ony of you comes here … ony of these Parts’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’); 4. ‘T’ inspire a countra’ fellow’s heel, / As onie ither’s’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’); 5. ‘Than Pallas, Jove, or Mars, or onie heathenish loon’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’); 6. ‘On onie day’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’); 7. ‘If ony reads’ (1811 Poem, John Meharg, ‘Epistle to Francis Boyle (I)’); 8. ‘Or that you like her mair than onie’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Answer’)]; (in a~ way) oany road, ochtlins [1. ‘The being oughtlins obligated’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Pig, or the power of Prejudice’)]; (to a~ extent) oany [1. ‘Haes the wather took up oany?’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
anybody noun: oanyboadie [1. ‘send it we ony Body comin till ony of these Parts’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’)]
anyhow adverb: oanyhoo
anyone noun: oanyboadie [1. ‘send it we ony Body comin till ony of these Parts’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’)]
anything noun: ocht [1. ‘An’ whan he meets wi’ aught uncommon’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Bonnet — A Poem, Addresed to a Reverend Miser’); 2. ‘Come back, ye dastards! — Can ye ought / Expect at your returnin’’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’)], oanythin; (a~ under the sun) oany mortyal thing
anyway adverb: oanyroad, oanyhoo
anywhere noun: oanyplace [1. ‘At hame, or onie place’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Simkin, Or A Bargain’s A Bargain’)], oanywhar
apace adverb: quick
apart adverb: apairt, sinthery [1. ‘sinthery = apart’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; frae ither; (a~ from) lee aside; (pull a~) pu sinthery [1. ‘poo sinthery = pull apart’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (fall a~) faa sinthery [1. ‘fa sinthery = fall apart’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
apartment noun: flet
apathetic adjective: cudnae care less
ape noun: monkey; verb: (mimic) dae; (cruelly) jeer [1. ‘jeer = mimic in a hurtful or insulting way’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
aperture noun: apenin, bole
apex noun: peak
apiece adverb: apiece, the piece
apologise verb: say (ye’r) sorry; mak / pit in an apologie
appal verb: shock
appalling adjective: awfa
apparatus noun: gear, yoke
apparel noun: claes
apparently adverb: appearinlie, on it
apparition noun: ghaist; (hist.) buggle-bo
appeal verb: mak an appeal
appear verb: mak an appearance, (hist.) kythe [1. ‘As for your gudwill to your brethers advancment, lett it kyth indeid’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry); 2. ‘Quo’ he, does any ferly kythe’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Pig, or the power of Prejudice’); 3. ‘I kend some loss wad kythe, that I would rue’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’); 4. ‘My frien’, I’m glad to see ye cythe’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Davie and Sawney, An Ale-House Ecologue’)]; (formal) compeer [1. ‘John Cowan, being sumoned, compeered and confessed his breach of sabbath in beating his wife one ye Lord’s day’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’)]; (a~ to be) luk like
appearance noun: leuks [1. ‘The leuks in a glass, o’ the loun that’s in faut’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Spae-Wife’)]; (outward expression) leuks [1. ‘The leuks o’ wheens wha stay’d behin’ / Were mark’d by monie a passion’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’)]; (fleeting) scad; (put in an a~) show yer face
appearances noun pl: (keeping up a~) nighber-like
appearing verb ppl: compeerin [1. ‘John Tomson Compeering, being sumoned, confesses his furnication wt Marion begs’ (1647 entry in ‘Session Book of Templepatrick’)]
appendix noun: add on, pendicle [1. ‘the necessiat of a deacon or elder in the pendicle belonging to the parish called Bellahill’ (1705 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]; (medical) pendix
appetite noun: hung’r; (person with a huge a~) big eater, guid feeder
applaud verb: clap, pit (yer) hans thegither
applause noun: big han
apple noun: epple
apply verb: pit in for, apply [1. ‘apply (-aai) = apply’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
appoint verb: pit in
appointment noun: tryst [CUD; SND(Uls.)]
appreciate verb: (understand) see throu, unnèrstan [1. ‘untherstan = understand, appreciate’ … ‘Ye unntherstan A’m an owl man, noo’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (I can a~ why you did that) A can see throu ye daein that, A can unnèrstan ye daein that
apprentice noun: prentice
approach verb: g’up tae, mak an approach; (in age) weer up on
approached verb pt: cum up tae, gaed up tae
appropriate adjective: richt
appropriately adverb: apt
approval noun: think weel o, blissin; (give it your a~) gie it yer blissin; (hist.) approbation [1. ‘In testimony of our approbation of the above proposals we subscribe our hands’ (1718 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]
approve verb: (a motion) alloo; (a~ of) on for
approved verb ppt: allooed, (hae) allooed
approximately adverb: in or aboot, near, nearaboots, roon, roonaboot, thair or thairaboots
apricot noun: (hist.) appricock [1. ‘Appricocks whole or in Gillie’ (c. 1711 Margaret McBride, ‘Belfast Cookery Book’)]
April noun: Aprile [Ap-rile] [1. ‘ Aprile 21 1749 prayers’ (1749 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’); 2. ‘About the middle o’ April [rhymed with ‘smile’]’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Address to the Cuckoo’)]; (A~ fool) gowk [CUD; SND(Uls.)]
apron noun: apern [1. ‘apern = apron’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 2. ‘apern = apron’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], daidlie [1. ‘daidlie = an apron’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (improvised, from a folded sack) rubber [1. ‘rubber = an improvised apron’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], bag-rubber.
apt adverb: (a~ to waken frequently) wakrife; (a~ to feel the cold) coulrife
aptly adverb: (fittingly) apt [1. ‘apt = fittingly’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
arable adjective: (a~ land) labour lan
arch noun: airch
archaic adjective: oul-farrant, auld, ancient; (hist.) auldrife
archer noun: (hist.) bowman
architect noun: airchyteck
archive noun: (neo) kist
Arctic adjective: Artic
Arctic skua noun: (bird) black gull, brown gull, dirt-bird, kepshite [CUD]
ardent adjective: keen
Ards noun (place name): Tha Airds [1.’ane Wilzame Boyd, sone to Dawid Boyd in the Airdis’ (1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]
are verb: ir, is, be [1. ‘trail a pick a few yeirs untill ye be able … Bot God forbid ye be sa daft’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry); 2. ‘Gannet, stick too the Door, see there be ne Irish Loons about the House’ (1733 Prose, Anon., A North-Country Grace)], bes; (a~ to) maun; (a~ there) ir the’. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (9.3 The auxiliary verb ‘be’) for parameters of use]
are verb: ir, is, be, bes; (a~ to) maun; (a~ there) ir the’. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (9.3 The auxiliary verb ‘be’) for parameters of use]
area noun: area; (large) clipe [1. ‘clipe = a large area’ … ‘a big clipe o grun’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], skelp [1. ‘skelp = a wide expanse’ … ‘a big skelp o grun’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (in the a~ of) up bye [1. ‘up bae = in that area’ … ‘He leeves up bae Minnydiff’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
aren’t verb: neg irnae, isnae, binnae, bisnae. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (9.3 The auxiliary verb ‘be’) for parameters of use]
argue verb: go agin; arg’y [1. ‘argay = argue. ‘You would argay the black crow white,’ saying’ ( 1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 2 . ‘argy = argue’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (a~ agressively) argy doon yer throat [1. ‘argy doon yer throat = argue vehemently and persistantly, despite the lack of supporting or presence of contrary evidence’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (a~ in an unyielding way) twust an thra [1. ‘twust an thra = argue and dispute in a niggling, unyielding way’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
argument noun: argyment, argyin match; (loud and angry) rippin match; (hist.)(lit.) threap
arid adjective: dry
arisen verb pp (hae) ris. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (8.5 Verb inflection for past tense: Verb Tables) for parameters of use]
arises verb: cums aboot, (hist.) (as opportunity a~) as occasions faa’s oot [1. ‘Quhat neuis I sall have you sall heir frome me as occasionis fallis out’ (c. 1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]
aristocracy noun: gentry [1. ‘Ye’d tak them a’ for gentry’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘The Simmer Fair’)], big fowk
arithmetic noun: rithmetic, coontin, sums
ark noun: airk; (chest) kist
arm noun: airm
armful noun: oxterfu [CUD; SND(Uls.)]
armpit noun: oxtèr
army noun: airmy, soajers
aroma noun: smell, whiff
arose verb pt: ris [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (8.5 Verb inflection for past tense: Verb Tables) for parameters of use]
around prep aroon, roon, aboot, roon aboot; (all a~) aa roon, rings roon. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (7.1 Prepositions with spatial meaning ) for parameters of use]
arouse verb: rise
aroused verb pt: ris
arrange verb: (plan) mak arrangements, mak plans, set up, fix up; (put in order) pit in line, soart; (holiday, appointment) soart, buik; (an insurance policy, etc.) tak oot; (to agree to borrow or buy) tryst [1. ‘tryst (-ie-) = order in advance; bespeak’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
arrant adjective: doonricht
array noun: ordèr; (apparel) claes
arrears noun: arrairs; (get in a~) faa behin
arrest verb: (police) lift
arrested verb pt: liftit; (he was a~ and charged for that) tha polis done him for that
arrive verb: cum, arrive [1. ‘arrive (-aai-)] = arrive’; (reach) win [1. ‘And wan into the rich man’s bed’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Gout and the Flea’)], land
arrived verb pt: (have recently a~) ir jist cum; (hist.) ir latelie arrivit; [1. ‘many uthers offisars ar laitlie arrivit frome Germany to lewie sogers’ (c. 1627 Letter from John Hamilton of County Down)]
arrogant adjective: big-heidit
arrow noun: arra
arrowhead noun: arraheid
art noun: airt
artery noun: artèry [1. ‘artery (-tth-) = artery’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
artful adjective: fly; (a~ ruse) fly move; (a~ person) queefer
arthritis noun: tha pains
artificial adjective: artyfeecial, fake, fahlse
artist noun: airtist, paintèr
as adverb & conj: as, lake, fur, whan, (hist.) als [1. ‘als weill in the marchis of thair landis as vtherwayis’ (1614 Letter from James Hamilton of Strabane); 2. ‘baith have streivin to be als quyett as we culd’ (c. 1630 Letter from Isobell Haldane of Ballycarry)]; (a~ far as) adverb: tha lenth o; (a~ soon as) tha minit, as shane as; (a~ was (his) custom) lake (he) aye daen; (a~ well) anaa, forbye, tae, as weel
ascend verb: clim
ascent noun: rise, brae, upworth
ascribe verb: pit (on) tae
ash noun: (tree) esh [1. ‘An’ guid aish suckers left but few’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Owre Hamely; or, The Famous Basket-Maker’)]; (a ~ sucker) esh-sooker
ashamed verb: pit tae shame, affrontit; (feel a~ of) think a shame o
ashes noun: aas [1. ‘Aas = ashes’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’)], eshes; greeshach [1. ‘greeshach = the embers of an almost burnt-out fire’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; (sooty dust) coom [1. ‘And streek me down amang the coom’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’)]
ashore adverb: aff tha boat, ashore
aside adverb: oot o tha road
ask verb: ax [1. ‘Sud ax nane wha ken - what the wife does at hame’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Spae-Wife’); 2. ‘An’ no’ a man to ax or buy’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Lines on seeing the Butterhorn’); 3. ‘ax = to ask’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 4. ‘aks = ask’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], ast, speer [1. ‘they caw that New-Raw, and then speer for Usher’s-Kee’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin); 2. ‘When they reply’d; - what need ye speer?’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘The Pig, or the power of Prejudice’); 3. ‘Syne after ithers weelfare speering’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Davie and Sawney, An Ale-House Ecologue’); 4. ‘An’ spier the where’ (1811 Poem, John Meharg, ‘Epistle to Francis Boyle (I)’); 5. An’ never spier if they say theirs’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Preacher turned Doctor’)]; (a~ for) luk; (a~ after) ask fur [1. ‘Tell hir A wuz askin for hir’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
asked verb ppt: ast, (hae) ast [1. ‘She ast iz wer name. They wurnae ast’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], axt [1. ‘Turn’d out en masse, as soon as ax’d’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Donegore Hill’); 2. ‘Wha’s there? she ax’t. The wan’rers rap’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Written in Winter’)], (hae) axt, speered, (hae) speered. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (8.5 Verb inflection for past tense: Verb Tables) for parameters of use]
askew adverb: labskew [1. ‘An’ tar-breeks on the fat lab-scouse / His ladle laves’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’); 2. ‘labskew = askew, awry’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], squeegeed [1. squeegeed (-j-) = twisted; askew’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
asleep verb: sleepin; (fallen a~) ower
aspect noun: ootluk
asphalt noun: eshphelt, tar
aspire verb: (be) lukin tae
aspirin noun: aspireen
ass noun: cuddy, jeckass
assail verb: atteck
assailant noun: attecker
assemble verb: get thegither, gether
Assembly noun: Semmlie; (hist.) Tholsel [1. ‘At one end of it is the County of Antrim Shirehall; at the other end the Tholsell or Town Court’ (1683 Hist., Richard Dobbs ‘County Antrim’)]
assert verb: maintain, houl, tell (ye) strecht; (hist.) ledge; (a~ something at odds with the facts) argy tha blak crow white
assertive adjective: pushie; (a~ talk) big taak; (not a~) quait; (be less a~) pu yer hoarns in; (adopt an a~ tone) shoot tha neck oot
assess verb: (hist.) extent [1. ‘ extending the haill entres silver foresaid’ (1617 Indenture from Robert McClelland of north Londonderry)]; (a~ correctly) (a situation or person) hae/get tha misure o
assets noun: (personal) belangins
assiduously adverb: singularlie [1. ‘all were encouraged to goe about the lds work singularlie’ (1718 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]
assignation noun: tryst
assimilate verb: tak in
assimilated verb: cum pairt o, taen/brocht intae
assist verb: gie a han
associate verb: (a~ with) g’aboot wi
association noun: (a~ of neighbours for a communal task) join [CUD; SND(Uls.)]; (formal) societie; (in suspicious a~ with) in traig wi [1. ‘traig = a suspicious association’ … ‘Whut’s he daein in traig wae a boy lake thon?’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
assume verb: tak it (for grantit); (a~ control) tak ower
assure verb: engage [1. ‘engage = assure, warrant’ … ‘A’ll engage ye daenae howl bak wae the sat’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], warrant [1. ‘I’se warrant them, they winna miss ye’ (1753 Poem, ‘M’, ‘The Gartan Courtship’)]; (I a~ you) there’s ma han
assuredly adverb: apt; (most a~ you will!) too apt (an) ye wull
astir adverb: up, stirrin, asteer [1. ‘But if Owre Hamely be asteer’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Owre Hamely; or, The Famous Basket-Maker’)]
astonish verb: dumfoonèr, stunner
astonishing adjective: pooerfu
astound verb: gie ye a gunk
astray adverb: agley
astride adverb: striddlin, striddled ower [1. ‘striddlin, striddled ower = astride’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
astrology noun: astrologie, readin tha stars
astute adjective: canny [1. ‘My conscience, ye hae graipet cannie’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘Epistle to N— P—, Oldmill’); 2. ‘But tell your story slee an’ cannie’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The Answer’)]; noun: (a~ and quick-witted person) shairper
asunder adverb: sinthery
asylum noun: mad-hoose
at preposition: at
at all adverb: ava [1. ‘ne Hole ava to let it doon’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin); 2. ‘He was ne gud at that ava’ (1733 Poem, Anon., ‘An elegy on Sawney Sinkler’); 3. ‘Wi’ deep disputes he didna care / Ava to meddle’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’); 4. ‘They shudna show their face ava in rural rhyme’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Allan, Damon, Sylvander, and Edwin, A Pastoral’); 5. ‘To them that had nae horse ava’ (1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Owre Hamely; or, The Famous Basket-Maker’)]; 6. ‘ava = at all’ … ‘A dinna ken ava … A’ll hae nane o’ that ava’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’); 7 2. ‘ava = at all’ … ‘A hae naen ava … It’s nae guid ava’ (1995 James Fenton ‘Hamely Tongue’)]
ate verb pt: et. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (8.5 Verb inflection for past tense: Verb Tables) for parameters of use]
athlete noun: spoartsman, spoartswumman
atlas noun: map-book
atom noun: (physics) adom; (tiny) mite
atone verb: mak up fur
attach verb: pit/heuk (etc.) on tae
attack verb, noun: atteck, go fur, lay intae, lay at [SND(Uls.)], leather intae, lick intae; (of illness) dose, fit; (verbally) slate [1. ‘Wad ye swear to quat your slyting?’ (1793 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Watty and Meg. A Tale’)]; eat tha heid aff, fly on, light on, join
attain verb: win; (a~ the age of) hit
attained verb pt: wun
attempt verb & noun: stab, stagger, stam, ettle at; gie it a try; (hist.) mint [1. ‘He minted weel - but oh, how can I tell’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’)]; (a~ to) mak tae
attend verb: get tae
attendance noun: (sports event) gate; (meeting) (be) a guid/puir (etc.) crood oot; (what was the a~ like?) hoo monie folk wus oot?
attention noun: (pay a~) tak heed, tak tent [1. ‘Takin’ nae tent to what he’ll say’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The De’il’s Address to S—y K—y’)]
attic noun: laft
attire noun: claes
attitude noun: attytude
attorney noun: tourney
attract verb: attrect
attracted verb pt: (be a~ to) lie tae, hae a notion o
attraction noun: attrèction
attractive adjective: bonnie [1. ‘He made some bonny tales, that gib’d them sair’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’)], winsome [1. ‘The lass that’s winsome, plump, and fair’ (1753 Poem, ‘M’, ‘The Gartan Courtship’)]; (good-looking) sonsie
attrition noun: (war, or process of a~) grun ye doon
attorney noun: retorney [1. ‘he is Returney of the Law here’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’)]
auburn adjective: rid-broon
auction noun, verb: cant [1. ‘Tho’ a’ they hae be put to cant’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To a Sparrow’); 2. ‘Cryin’, Gentlemen, attend the cant’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘The De’il’s Address to S—y K—y’); 3. ‘cant = auction’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]; verb: pit tae tha hemmer
auctioneer noun: cant-mestèr [1. ‘cant-mester = an auctioneer’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
audience noun: audyence [1. ‘audyence (-yence) = audience’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], crood
auger noun: drill
aught noun: ocht
augment verb: pit tae, add tae
August noun: Agust [1. ‘ Agost 16 1749 prayers’ (1749 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]; (the last Saturday in A~, the parade day of the Royal Black Institution) Blak Settèrday
aunt noun: auntie
austere adjective: strict
authentic adjective: rail [1. ‘rail = real’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
authorise verb: let, alloo
authorised verb ppt: passed, (hae) passed, allooed, (hae) allooed. [See Ulster-Scots Grammar (8.5 Verb inflection for past tense: Verb Tables) for parameters of use]
authority noun: pooer, owerance [CUD; SND(Uls.)], authoritie
autumn noun: autumn, bak en o tha yeir, fal o tha leaf; (lit.) hairst
avail verb: (a~ yourself) tak; noun: (of no a~ ) nae use
avalanche noun: snaw-slide
avarice noun: greed
avenge verb: get (yer) ain bak
avenue noun: drive, avenye, evvenye
aver verb: say, declare, state, houl
average adjective: middlin (but often means mediocre or poor); (better than a~) mair nor middlin [1. ‘mair nor middlin = better than average’ … ‘ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
aversion noun: scunnèr; (take an a~ to) tak a scunnèr at; (a feeling or source of a~) hairtscad [CUD; SND(Uls.)]
avert verb: jook, turn (awa); (a~ your eyes) turn yer een; (a~ your gaze) luk away
avoid verb: gie it a miss
awake adjective: wakken
aware adverb: awar; (a~ of) beknownst tae, sensible o [1. ‘not appearing to be so sensible of her sin as could have been wished’ (1708 entry from ‘Ballycarry Session Book’)]
awash adjective: sweemin
away adverb: awa [1. ‘yen o’ the Cheels we a white Sark ged awa till the brass Bird’ (1733 Prose, ‘J.S.’, The North Country-Man’s Description of Christ’s Church, Dublin); 2. ‘ne yen to tak awa yer Corn’ (1767 Prose, James Murray, ‘Letter to Rev. Baptist Boyd’); 3. ‘Ye waste ye’r time awa’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Tit for Tat, or The Rater Rated’); 4. ‘But never ran awa to drink it’ (1793 Samuel Thomson, ‘Elegy on R- I-’); 5. ‘Unnotic’d till we be awa’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Davie and Sawney, An Ale-House Ecologue’); 6. ‘Beasts, yarn, an’ claith, aft call’d the sons awa’ ’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘The Penitent’); 7. ‘And sent awa for Huie Mertin’ (1807 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘Carnmoney Witches’); 8. ‘Unto the kirk awa’ you hie’ 1811 Poem, Francis Boyle ‘To a Clergyman’)]
awful adjective: affa [1. ‘affa = awful’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], awesome; (hist.) unco [1. ‘Remembrance gi’s him unco pain’ (1753 Poem, ‘W’, ‘Sysiphus, or Human Vanity’); 2. ‘While my reflections gi’ me unco pain’ (1753 Poem, Anon., ‘Elegy on the death of Jonathan Swift’)]
awfully adverb: affa [1. ‘affa = awfully’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
awkward adjective: thaveless; (of a person) akward [1. ‘akward (ah-) = awkward’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], thran, contrairy; (clumsy) hanless; (on one’s feet) fitless; (of an object) footèrie; (most a~) damtest; verb: (be a~) thra; noun: (a~ foolish person) gamaleerie; (a~ gawky person) chookie, dunkle, galumph, pyock, tyock; (a~, blundering walk) spaltèr [1. ‘spalter (spahlt-ther) = walk in an awkward, bludering way; stagger’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], stammer [1. ‘stammer = stumble, walk in a clumsy, blundering way’ … ‘He jaist threw the dorr open an come stammerin in’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)]
awkwardly adverb: (walk a ~, with legs apart) striddle
awl noun: (shoemaker’s) aal, elshin
awn noun: (beard on barley) barleyann, ann [1. ‘aan = the hair or beard in barley’ (1880 Hist., William Patterson ‘Glossary of Antrim and Down’)]
awry adverb: aglee, labskew [1. ‘An’ tar-breeks on the fat lab-scouse / His ladle laves’ (1804 Poem, James Orr, ‘To the Potatoe’); 2. ‘labskew = askew, awry’ (1995 James Fenton, Hamely Tongue)], aff, wrang; (hist.) athraw [1. ‘My hoes she’ll able spy a-thra’ (1799 Poem, Samuel Thomson ‘Davie and Sawney, An Ale-House Ecologue’)]
axe noun: exe, hagger; (hand) hatchet
axle noun: exle
