Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BAIRGE, n.³ and v.³

1. n. Forcible effort.Rxb.(D) 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes an Knowes 16:
Be this, it wasna fer ti the heed o the brae — the hinmaist bit bairge ov a powe [pull] bringin iz alang bye a boaggly, gloomin planteen, where the whussellin wund gaed soachin throwe.

2. v. To collide violently; to threaten with violence; to move clumsily and noisily.Bnff.² 1932:
The three o's wir stannin' newsin' at the corner fin the muckle gype bairg't in till's.Abd.⁴ 1929:
Bairge, to attack at full speed. “Bairgin' intae ye.”Bch.(D) 1926 P. Giles in Abd. Univ. Rev. (March) 115:
Bit that only made 'er waur an' fin she began t' bairge at him neist wi' her stick, he tell't 'er that . . . he couldna cairry her.w. and n.Sc. 1887 Jam.⁶:
She jist likes to gae bairgin about.Rxb. 1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 262:
We've weary bairg'd through mony lands, and battled wi' the brine.