A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1438-1623
[0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Siching, Sighing, vbl. n. Also: sichinge, sychin(g, sichin, sichand; syking. [ME and e.m.E. sighing(e (a1300), siking (Havelok), sykyng (c1400).]
1. The action of sighing.For further examples of sare siching (siching sare), see Sar(e adj. 7 a.(a) ?1438 Alex. ii 3801.
Lat ȝour siching be! ?1438 Alex. ii 6845.
At … thare parting, Was maid mony greuous siching 1456 Hay II 158/2.
Be sobbing and siching, hosting and aynding a1500 Henr. Test. Cress. 450.
Sowpit in syte, I say with sair siching 1528 Lynd. Dreme 333.
Dolour infinyte … With sobbyng, syching, sorrow, and with syte 1540 Lynd. Sat. 389.
With siching sair I am bot schent a1568 Bannatyne MS 212a/3.
O foly hairt … Compone thy self and lat thi sychin be a1585 Maitland Quarto MS 200/1.
With siching sad and surging sorrow soir c1600 Montg. Suppl. xxix 7, etc. 1581-1623 James VI Poems II 13/17.(b) 1566-70 Buch. Comm. on Virgil Georgics iii 506.
Spiritus: (sighing)(c) 1533 Boece 224b.
My wourdis be sichin ar brokin(d) 15.. Dunb. App. x 39.
Exyll all sichand on thy scherwand rew(e) a1500 Quare of Jelusy 233.
To recist agaynis tyranny … With syking wailling pleynyng and prayere
2. An instance of sighing; a sigh. ?1438 Alex. ii 7778.
With mad murning and sichingis sare c1450-2 Howlat 957 (A).
He solpit, he sorowit, in sighingis seire 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 9858.
The empreour … With sair sichingis and sobbings to him said [etc.] a1568 Scott x 53.
Thair is nocht wie Can estimie My sorrow and my sichingis sair
b. Passing into: An expression of sorrow or grief; a lament. a1585 Maitland Quarto MS 206/157.
As I past this siching could I say, All men sall die that euer draweth braith
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Siching vbl. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/siching_vbl_n>
