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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CLOCHARET, Clochret, Cloughret, n. Applied to the wheatear, Saxicola œae.nanthe, or to the stonechat, Saxicola torquata, the name being in either case derived from the sharp “chack-chack” note of the bird (see etym. note). [′klɔx(ə)rət]Sc. 1808 Jam.:
Clocharet. This is one of the birds, in whose natural history, as related by the vulgar, we perceive the traces of ancient superstition. It is believed in the North of Sc. that the toad covers the eggs of this bird during its absence from the nest. Some, indeed, assert, that the toad hatches the young stone-chatter.
Ags. 1867 G. W. Donald Poems, etc. 28:
An' the clochret peeps ‘neath the yellow broom.
Per. 1795 Stat. Acc.1 IX. 490:
The curlew or whaap, and clocharet are summer birds.
Per. 1898 E.D.D.:
The lambs they bleat, the cloughrets call.

[Cf. Gael. clacharan (MacLennan), cloichirein, clochlain, the stone-chat (Macleod and Dewar), from clach (genitive cloiche), a stone, “from the similarity between its alarm-note and the striking together of two pebbles” (Swainson).]

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"Clocharet n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 25 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/clocharet>

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