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: 1769-1824
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BAE, v. and n. The Sc. form of Eng. baa. [be:, bę:]
1. v. To bleat like a sheep.Sc. [1769] D. Herd Sc. Songs (1776) II. 101:
How happy is a shepherd's life, . . . While the gimmers bleat and bae, And the lambkins answer mae?
2. n. A sheep's bleat; a calf's cry.Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems and Epistles 21:
I saw his herd yestreen gawn owre the brae; Wi' heart-felt grief I heard their mournfu' bae.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 38:
Bae. The bleat of a fat sheep.
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"Bae v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bae>
