Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BONACCORD, n. Also -acord.

1. “Agreement, amity” (Abd. 1825 Jam.²).Peb. 1715 A. Pennecuik Tweeddale (1815) 368:
Visits we interchange with one another, In bonacord, like sister and like brother.

2. “A term which seems to have been formerly used by way of toast, as expressive of amity and kindness” (Ib.).

3. The motto of the city of Aberdeen, and hence substituted for the name of the city.Abd. 1887 W. Walker Bards of Bon-Accord 41:
Thanks to a worthy son of Bon-Accord.Abd. 2000 Herald 27 Mar 28:
"Is that an albatross on you shoulder, Sandy, or a regular Aberdeen seagull?" So as the bold publicans of Bon Accord gear up for summer my advice is straightforward; keep your tables and chairs where they belong ... indoors.

Hence Abbot of Bonaccord (see quot.).Abd. 1931 I. F. Grant Everyday Life in Old Scot. 134:
A personage who was a sort of parody of the real rulers. In Aberdeen he was called the Abbot of Bonaccord or the Abbot Out of Reason.