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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FEY, v.², n.¹ Also †fay, fy, fee. [fɑe Abd., fe: Gall.]

I. v. To clean out, scour (a ditch or drain) (Abd.15 1880; Abd.27, Per.4 1950). Also in Eng. dial.Abd. 1922 Swatches o' Hamespun 56:
Geordie Gowan . . . gid aboot an' howkit walls, biggit steen an' fell-dykes, feyed stanks an' siclike.Abd. 1949 Buchan Observer (2 Aug.):
Building up dykes, trimming hedges, scouring drains, “fyin stanks,” or scouring ditches.

II. n. The in-field or cultivated land nearest the farm-buildings in the old system of tillage; now only in field-names (Kcb.1 1930). Also attrib.Gall. 1692 A. Symson Descr. Gall. (1823) 76:
A peece of ground lying neerest to their house, and this peece of ground they call their Beir-fay on which they lay their dung before tilling. . . . It is frequently observed that better beir grows on that part of the Fay that was dunged the preceding year.Kcb. 1814 W. Nicholson Poems 46:
But the neist week they lost a quey, Whilk stray'd awa' to Sandy's fey.Wgt. 1869 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 722:
Fey-land is that portion of the farm which, in olden times, was constantly cropped, and received all the manure of the stock — the best land on the farm.Kcb. 1897 T. Murray Frae the Heather 36:
Wi' her I oft hae dunged the fey, And carted hame the peats and hay.Wgt. 1912 A.O.W.B. Fables frae French 102:
An' auld man an' his Cuddy chanced to pass A bonnie fey, whar there was fouth o' grass.

Comb. feeland, see quot.Bwk. 1776 Session Papers, Wilkieson v. Earl of Lauderdale (24 Sept.) 3:
The burgesses of Lauder . . . have what is called the croft-lands or burgesses-acres, and what is called the feelands which are understood as pertinents of these burgess-acres. These feeland parts consist of a large tract of high grounds, partly arable and partly pasture. The arable grounds are divided into what they call four hills, which are alternately in crops.