Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1767-1788, 1866-1936, 1990-1999
[0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1]
BROWDEN, BRODDEN, BRODEN, BROUDEN, BROODEN, v. [′brʌud(ə)n, ′brɔd(ə)n Sc.; ′brud(ə)n Slg.]
1. To be fond of, intent upon anything, hence to pet or pamper. Most common as pa.p. or ppl.adj. (Slg.3 1909, broodent). Known to Bnff.2, Abd.19 1936.Ork. 1929 Marw.:
Used of a child or an animal that was insistent upon getting something — e.g. "broddend apae the breest" — of a child insisting on getting suck.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 17:
They browden (or browden up) that lassie o' theirs our muckle.Abd.(D) 1767 R. Forbes Jnl. from London, etc. (1869) 17:
[I] did na' care for bein aur brouden'd upon her at first.Abd.(D) 1788 J. Skinner Christmass Bawing xxvii. in Caled. Mag. 504:
The Millart never notic'd Tam, Sae browden'd he the Ba'.Fif. 1897 "S. Tytler" Lady Jean's Son xiii.:
Eh! but the aulder birkie was brodent on you, in his wilfu' way.Fif.10 1936:
She's sair browdened on that bairn.Ayr. 1900 "G. Douglas" House with Green Shutters (1901) iv.:
Mrs Gourlay was what the Scotch call "browdened on her boy."
2. To become habituated to (Ork. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 XV. 95; 1866 Edm. Gl., brodend). Only as ppl.adj.Abd. 1990s:
The bairn's awfu brodent on his mither. The mither's fair brodent on her bairn.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Browden v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/browden_v>
