Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
UNHEARTSOME, adj. Also unhairtsome. 1. Cheerless, melancholy, dismal. See Hertsome, adj. Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1752 E. Erskine Works (1785) 978:
What a melancholy unheartsome habitation would this world be, if it but wanted the sun in the firmament!Kcb. 1897 Crockett Lochinvar xxi.:
An uncanny and unheartsome journey.Ayr. 1927 J. Carruthers A Man Beset i. i.:
I don't believe God meant the Sabbath to be the most unheartsome day of all the week.Gsw. 1991 James Alex McCash in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 16:
They, dule and mane, unhairtsome roond the
bier,
Lay by the bride sidelins, in effectuous exile
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2. Of persons: slightly miserable or uncomfortable, “esp, as regarding the sensation of cold” (Sc. 1825 Jam.).
3. Of weather: uncomfortable, cold and damp (Ib.).
[O.Sc. unheartsom, = 1., 1637.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Unheartsome adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/unheartsome>