Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
ALAKE, int. Sc. form of alack. Now archaic and poetical. [ə′lek]Sc. 1725 Ramsay G. Shepherd (1728) Act II. Sc. iii.:
Alake! what can I do, That underneath baith Eild and Poortith bow?Abd. 1826 D. Anderson Poems 26:
Gin ye alake haud headlong on Your mad career.Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Sc. Poems (1925) 54:
Alake! the byword's o'er weel kend throughout, “Prophets at hame are held in nae repute.”Ayr. 1786 Burns Scotch Drink xiv.:
Alake! that e'er my Muse has reason, To wyte her countrymen wi' treason!
