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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BLAW, n.3, v.2

1. n. “Blossom, bloom” (Abd.22 1934).Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems 146:
Whan flowers are i' the blaw.

2. v. “To blossom” (Abd.19 1934).Bwk. c.1840 T. Knox in Minstrelsy of the Merse (ed. Crockett 1893) 177:
Still sweetly blaws the auld wall-flower, And waves ilk forest tree.Rnf. 1807 R. Tannahill Poems and Songs 12:
Suner shall roses in December blaw.Dmf. 1912 A. Anderson Surfaceman's Later Poems 33:
Row, Kello, row frae rocky linns, An' through amang thy grassy braes, Where gowans grow an' hawthorns blaw.

[The pa.t. of O.E. blāwan, to blow, and blōwan, to bloom, were already identical in form and this may have caused the later confusion between the other parts of the two verbs. Blaw does not occur in this sense in O.Sc.]

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