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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.

Quotation dates: 1894

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BACK-FEAR, n. An object of terror behind one, an intuitive dread of something sinister in the rear.Fif. 1894 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin, Swatches o' Hodden-Grey x.:
I durstna budge oot o' the bit, nor mak' either hishie or wishie, for fear o' back-fear.

[The compound occurs in Middle Scots a.1578: "He neidit to dreid no bakfeare," Lindsay (of Pitscottie) Hist. Scotland (1728) (S.T.S.) I. 246. It is interpreted by the E.D.D. to mean "an object of fear from behind."]

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"Back-fear n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/backfear>

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