Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1818-1835
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
BACK-FRIEND, n. A supporter; one who does his best for another. Rare in St.Eng.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian (1829) xii.:
Poverty is a bad back-friend, Reuben.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel xv.:
Ye have back-friends, my lord, that is unfriends — or, to be plain, enemies — about the person of the Prince. [Here it is used enigmatically.]Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales, etc. (1837) VI. 193:
You shall find you have some good back-friends there.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Back-friend n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/backfriend>
