Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SKIVE, v.2 To shave, pare, slice off a thin layer (ne.Sc., Ags., em.Sc.(b), Lnk. 1970); to whittle a piece of wood (Ork. 1929 Marw.). Derivs. skivalt, a thin layer, esp. of skin (Id.), skiverek, a thin piece of turf pared off the top of a peat-bank in preparation for cutting the peats (Sh. 1962). [skɑev]em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 181:
' ... It will be a new and better life, an eternal life. Did ye ken, sir, they kept me in chains in the Tolbooth mair than a twalmonth? Can ye think whit like that is? The iron bands skive the skin aff ye till ye're raw tae the banes. Ye wouldna see a dug treatit sae ill. ... '

[Also in Eng. technical usage of paring leather. Norw. skiva, O.N. skífa, to pare, shave. Cf. the cognate Shive.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Skive v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 25 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/skive_v2>

24214

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: