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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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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.

‡SPREIT, n. Also spreet, spret, sprit. Sc. forms and usages of Eng. sprite, †spirit (Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems 131, Sc. 1879 P. H. Waddell Isaiah xi. 2., Ork. 1884 R. M. Fergusson Rambles 33, Sc. 1926 H. M'Diarmid Drunk Man 22).

Sc. forms of Eng. spirit.ne.Sc. 1823 William Mackie compiler, ed. David Stevenson The Diary of a Canny Man (1991) 119:
The storm continues the same with the frost intense. The sprits of wine in the thermometer of my weather glass stood at 32°, the freezing point, this morning.m.Sc. 1979 Ian Bowman in Joy Hendry Chapman 23-4 (1985) 40:
He doutna glower at me, but he bent
to scrieve wi his finger in the stour;
then his spreit cam oot to me, an I kent
he was blate at ma shame, for aa his power.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 20:
land whaur gien choice the people turnt aboot,
wrung oot o spreit like onie saft cloot,
land o ice whaur wi sair hauch
the auld dee cauld, land o the drukken droch.

Sc. usages:

1. As in Eng., in Sc. deriv. and comb. (1) spreet livin', bursting with life; (2) sprety, spirited, lively (Sc. 1808 Jam.).(1) Sh. 1899 Shetland News (25 Feb.):
If he'd com' i' da boat spreet livin', he'd laid her in spindle wid apo' da watter.

2. A lively, mischievous youngster (Cai. 1956, spreet, spret).