Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
STAVER, v., n.1 Also staiver. [′ste:vər]
I. v. To stagger, stumble about, walk unsteadily (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 268; Fif. 1950); to saunter, stroll, walk in a leisurely manner (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 180).Abd. 1754 R. Forbes Jnl. from London 25:
A stirkie that had staver'd into a well-eye.Ags. 1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' xxxii.:
He . . . gangs just stavering about In quest o' prey.Dmf. 1835 J. W. Carlyle Letters (Froude) I. 50:
If Mr Carlyle bees ony uneasy through the nicht, and's ga'an staiveren aboot the hoose.Fif. 1838 W. Tennant Anster Fair 34:
[He] staiver'd ower the hie-road's breidth, Frae side to side a-swingin'.Per. 1871 Per. Constitutional (28 Aug.):
The auld beggar cam staiverin' anower to the floor-head.Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) 88:
A lot o' men an' loons staiverin' aboot Carnoustie playin' at the gowf.Lth. 1928 S. A. Robertson With Double Tongue 183:
“Keep us! what's wrang?” said the gudewife, as I gaed staverin in.Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick vii.:
Staiverin' an' paamerin aboot i' the dark.
II. n. 1. A stroll, leisurely walk, saunter (Bnff. 1971).Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 180:
We took a staiver doon the burn side i' the gloamin.
2. An easy-going person (Id.). Deriv. staiveral, staverall, id., a rather stupid, gawky person (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 438).
[The, at first obvious, derivation as a freq. form of Stave, v., 4. is rendered doubtful by the very much earlier appearance of stauer, stawer in O.Sc., c.1420, = to stagger, reel about. That there is however an ultimate connection with stave is prob. (cf. Norw. stavre, to stagger, totter, staver, a stake, post), the orig. notion being “to walk with stiff legs, like sticks or staves.” It seems likely therefore that the word is of Scand. orig. but the historical development is not clearly evidenced.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Staver v., n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 23 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/staver_v_n1>
