Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

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

SKRINK, v., n. Also skrynk, scrink and deriv. ¶skrinkle. [skrɪŋk]

I. v. 1. To shrink, shrivel up (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Pa.p. skrinket, -it, -yt, shrivelled, wrinkled; skinny (s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry Gl.; Sc. 1808 Jam.; Lth., Rxb. 1970).Sc. p.1714 Hogg Jacob. Relics (1819) I. 120:
But to my lean and skrinkit witch I leave damnation and the itch.s.Sc. 1824 J. Telfer Border Ballads 65:
The witches smakit their skrynket gans.

¶2. To shrink away, to withdraw oneself unobtrusively, in quot. with a play on sense 1.Ork. 1951 R. Rendall Ork. Variant 56:
Until the white-faced moon, Sair plaguid, grows fleggid, An' than gings skrinklan doun.

II. n. A shrivelled, peevish, unpleasant or contemptible person, esp. of a woman (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., Rxb. 1970). Hence skrinkie, -y, n. dim., id.; adj., thin, wrinkled, shrivelled (s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry Gl.; Sc. 1808 Jam.; Rxb. 1970), comb. skrinkie-faced, having a wrinkled face, with the additional idea of unpleasantness of manner (Rxb. 1825 Jam., Watson).Dmf. 1830 W. Bennet Traits Sc. Life I. 53:
The brewst frae the auld scrinkie's fizzionless tea-leaves!s.Sc. 1897 E. Hamilton Outlaws 231:
Feeble, skrinkie-faced beldames.Abd. 1931 D. Campbell Uncle Andie 9:
The skrinkie-faced jolachie cudna hear Big Ben strikin' anaith her chin.