Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1794-1868
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CALLAN, n.2 Also callant (by confusion with callant, Callan , n.1). A girl (Gall. 1804 R. Couper Poems II., Gloss.; 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 108).Sc. 1817 Blackwood's Mag. (Aug.) 464:
She said, that Wull Marshal was a man when she was a bitt callant, (provincially, in Galloway, a very young girl).Wgt. 1794–1868 Curriehill:
In Wigtonshire and the Isle of Man it [callan] means a girl; everywhere else a boy.
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"Callan n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/callan_n2>
