Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
BACKART, BACK'ART, BACKWART, adj. Sc. forms of backward. [bɒk(w)ərt]Sc. 1912 A.O.W.B. Fables frae the French 39:
He didna min' the loss o' what he'd brocht, But tried, puir fule, to get aff by a trick He'd learnt langsyne, a kin' o' back'art kick.Ags. 1856 W. Grant A Few Poet. Pieces 33:
Thou gruntin' monster, backart creature, Clearly the devil paints thy nature.Lnk. c.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 25:
But waes me we that's poor fouk is born to mony fealins and backwart faus.
Deriv. backerly, "used of a late season-a backerly spring or harvest; it can also apply to a badly built load of sheaves, which is too heavy towards the back" (Ork. 1973 Orcadian (20 Dec.)).
[Back + ward, direction. The change from d to t is common. Cf. forward and Forrit. Bakward, backwart found in O.Sc. as early as 1375 in Barbour's Brus.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Backart adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/backart_adj>
