Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1908-1920
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BOOLD, BEULD, n. The celebration or festivities with which the people of Ork. occupied their nights during the big markets, when there was no proper sleeping accommodation for them in the town. [buld, bøld]Ork.(D) 1908 J. T. S. Leask in Old-Lore Misc., Ork., Sh., etc. I. vi. 222:
Dan dey hed bony ongans wi' whit they caa'd Lammas brithers an' Lammas sisters, an' Lammas boolds.Ork. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. Ork. Par. (1922) 123:
The only resource was to hire a fiddler . . . or lie down promiscuously on a heap of straw in a corner and snatch a few hours' sleep. This was called a Lammas "beuld," and on these occasions a young gallant paying attention to any particular lady was called her "Lammas brither."
