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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

DEFEECKWALT, Defeeckwult, Deffeckwalt, Diffiquilt, adj. Sc. forms of Eng. difficult. Known to Bnff.2 (defeeckwult), Abd.19, Ags.2, Slg.3, Kcb.1 1940. [dɪ′fikwəlt]Ags. 1859 C. S. Graham Mystifications 62:
It's no sae lang syne nor diffiquilt to mind.
s.Sc. 1835–40 J. M. Wilson (ed.) Tales of the Borders (1857–59) VII. 137:
I wad match ony coo I hae in my byre against ye at a defeeckwalt point o' law.
Dmf. 1998 Jilly Hawker in Neil R. MacCallum Lallans 51 13:
Life for her fowk was sair deffeckwalt the noo. Eilidh's faither was richt badly an bedfast these past weeks.

[The strong stress on the second syllable has caused the reduction of the vowel in the final syllable and the development of a labial glide after k.]

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"Defeeckwalt adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/defeeckwalt>

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